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Video footage reportedly shows Hannah Kobayashi, the Hawaii woman who went missing after failing to make a connected cross-country flight last month, crossing the border into Mexico four days after landing in Los Angeles, authorities announced on Monday (December 2) evening via ABC 7.
Kobayashi, 30, was seen in Customs and Border Protection footage on foot near Tijuana at around 12:15 p.m. on November 12, the Los Angeles Police Department revealed during a press conference.
“She was alone, with her luggage and appeared unharmed,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said. “At this time Kobayashi’s case has been classified a voluntary missing person.”
Kobayashi is also believed to have dumped her phone at some point after landing at LAX on November 8 and there is no evidence that she was the victim of sex trafficking or foul play that led to her disappearance, according to McDonnell.
“Additionally the investigators noted that before departing Maui, Kobayashi expressed the desire to step away from modern connectivity,” he said. “Our priority is ensuring Ms. Kobayashi’s safety and well-being and we urge Ms. Kobayashi to contact her family, law enforcement or personnel at the US Embassy to let us know that she is safe.”
Several conspiracy theories launched in connection with the search for Kobayashi are suspected to have led to her father's death. Ryan Kobayashi, 58, died by suicide after jumping off a parking structure near Los Angeles International Airport at around 4:00 a.m. local time on November 24.
Hannah's aunt, Larie Pidgeon, whom she was set to visit for her 'bucket list' trip to New York before going missing, claims that online conspiracy theories, which include Hannah potentially being brainwashed by a cult or blackmailed by African hackers, possibly contributed to Ryan's death.
“It’s bulls**t! It’s such bulls**t!” Pidgeon told the New York Post on November 25. “If Ryan is looking at all this s–t, imagine that weighing on him?”
“He broke,” she added. “He died of a broken heart. We were tirelessly searching, and Ryan was a big, giant teddy bear. He’s sensitive. Imagine looking in places like Skid Row, picturing his daughter being sex-trafficked, not getting sleep. He just broke.”
Hannah, 30, flew from Maui to Los Angeles on November 8 and was scheduled to take a connected flight to New York, but missed the second flight despite surveillance footage confirming she'd landed at LAX. Relatives initially became worried after she sent strange texts before vanishing, which included messaging a friend that she "got tricked into pretty much giving away all my funds" and another claiming she'd been fooled by "someone I thought I loved."
“Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f**k since Friday,” another message stated.
Hannah's family said the texts were unlike ones she would send.
“She mentioned feeling scared, and that someone might be trying to steal her money and identity,” Pidgeon told the New York Post. “Strange, cryptic messages — things about the matrix, it was so unlike her. And then all of a sudden, no more communication.”
Hannah was reportedly spotted at the Grove shopping mall in Los Angeles on November 10 and at a downtown Metro train station with an unknown person on November 11, which was the last time she was heard from in text messages, according to her family.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.