Hannah Kobayashi, a 30-year-old woman from Hawaii who disappeared after flying into Los Angeles last month, has been found safe, her family said.
“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe,” her family said in a statement to KABC. “This past month has been an unimaginable ordeal for our family, and we kindly ask for privacy as we take the time to heal and process everything we have been through. We want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported us during this difficult time. Your kindness and concern have meant the world to us.”
The family did not provide further details in its announcement.
The Independent has contacted the family’s attorney for comment.
Kobayashi boarded a plane to Los Angeles on November 8, but didn’t board a planned connecting flight to New York, where she had a gig taking photographs at a DJ performance.
She told her family she had missed her flight and planned to sleep at the Los Angeles airport.
Family members and friends said they then began receiving concerning messages sent from Kobayashi’s phone.
“Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f**k since Friday,” one message to a friend said, according to screenshots her sister sent CNN. “I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds,” said another, which was followed by: “For someone I thought I loved.”
Days after her flight, the 30-year-old was photographed around Los Angeles, including at the upscale rove shopping center.
Her last Instagram post on November 10 seemed to indicate she was still in Los Angeles. Her family lost contact with her the following day.
Family members rallied the public to try and find Kobayashi.
In late November, Kobayashi’s father Ryan was found dead in a Los Angeles parking lot in a death that was ruled a suicide.
At a press conference las week, the Los Angeles Police Department described the disappearance as voluntary and said Kobayashi had retrieved her baggage from LAX airport on November 11.
She then used her passport and cash to buy a ticket to the U.S.-Mexico border at Los Angeles’s Union Station.
Police said they had “reviewed video surveillance from US Customs and Border Protection, which clearly shows Kobayashi crossing the United States border on foot into Mexico” on November 12 at San Diego’s San Ysidro crossing.
“She was alone with her luggage and appeared unharmed at this time,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell. “Investigators noted that, before departing Maui, Kobayashi expressed a desire to step away from modern connectivity.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.