Family of woman who went missing on cross-country vacation says cryptic texts sent from phone unlike her
LOS ANGELES - Hannah Kobayashi's family has gathered in Los Angeles to retrace the missing photographer's steps after she missed her transfer flight to New York then disappeared after a series of cryptic messages and a brief appearance with an unknown man on surveillance footage near Skid Row.
The 31-year-old Oahu, Hawaii, resident had planned a vacation to see her aunt in New York City and flew from Maui to Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 8, her aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told Fox News Digital. She was elated about her first music photography gig in the city, had an involved trip itinerary and had paid thousands for her hotel room, Pidgeon said.
Kobayashi was scheduled to take a connecting flight to New York, with a 40-minute layover at 11 a.m., and planned to go to a show with her aunt, but she never got on that flight. Her family is unsure why.
Then friends and family received a flurry of bizarre text messages that didn't match the young woman's usual cadence. She texted a friend that she "got tricked into pretty much giving away all my funds" and that she was tricked "for someone I thought I loved."
"There was not a single emoji. She's an artist. ... Instead of a … question mark, she would put a crystal ball – she's just that cute – and there was none of that," Pidgeon said on Thursday. "She said that someone was trying to steal her funds, not cash, not money, funds. Like, who uses that word?"
"She [wrote she] was having a spiritual awakening, that she was concerned about the matrix. It was just the most bizarre text messages. And it went from, 'Hi, I can't wait to see you guys. Love you. Everything's great.'"
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Before sending the messages, Kobayashi was seen talking to a ticketing agent and trying to get a direct flight to New York rather than waiting on standby, Pidgeon said.
Kobayashi's mother reported her missing on Nov. 11, Pidgeon said, the day that communications from the woman's phone to family and friends halted. Through their own investigative work, the family viewed surveillance footage of Kobayashi from that day with an unknown man near the Pico Metro station in downtown L.A.
"The Pico station is in a very bad neighborhood, [and] it was late at night," Pidgeon said. "That causes us even more alarm because it's not a place that Hannah would go. There's no reason that she would go to a neighborhood of crime. Even if she said, 'Hey, I need to go get a hotel room because I'm tired,' there's 18 hotels by the airport … she would have to have two transfer stations to get to this station."
Although Kobayashi's mother, Brandi Yee, filed a missing-persons report with the department, Pidgeon said detectives "haven't even called [her] to talk to her about the last conversations that we had with Hannah."
Kobayashi sent mysterious texts to friends and family before losing contact entirely, writing that she "got tricked into pretty much giving away all [her] funds."
"We can't release the footage; we would love to get it released to the public by the LAPD," Pidgeon said on Thursday. "We've seen it, we know that it's out there, and we're like, 'Why is it not getting released?' At this point it's been 10 days, I feel like it could help so much in the investigation."
The Los Angeles Police Department's press office could not confirm whether they had viewed the footage or contacted the family, only that Kobayashi had been reported missing and that they had distributed a flier on their social media accounts.
Kobayashi also charged her phone with an employee within The Grove outdoor open-air mall and had filled out an application for a book club at the TASCHEN book store using her Hawaii address on Nov. 11, her aunt said. Witnesses there told the family that Kobayashi "was in good spirits" and said that "she had a little bit of time to explore in L.A.," Pidgeon said.
"Every confirmed sighting that she has with an individual, she's of sound mind," Pidgeon said of her conversations with those who last spoke to her niece. "She's happy, she's kind. She doesn't appear [to be] drunk or on any substances. … That is why we are here handing out fliers and flying in, because it is so unlike our character."
Kobayashi's family held a rally on Thursday at the Crypto.com Arena to hand out fliers and search the area near where she was last seen.
"We're just running," Pidgeon said. "You know, we're just going down and up and down Skid Row."
"We want to do as many interviews as we can. The longer that we keep her name out there, the longer that she's on the news, the better chance that her family has to get her back," Pidgeon said. "I've become a press secretary, a journalist, a photographer. This is how much we love her."
Pidgeon said the 31-year-old "does everything" and dabbles in fire spinning, DJing and charity work.
"She's a pivotal person in her community, she's a wonderful person, a great daughter, she makes everyone laugh," Pidgeon said. "If I'm having a problem at 2 a.m., I can call Hannah because she'll pick up."
Security footage obtained by Kobayashi's family shows her leaving the airport on Nov. 8, wearing a black hoodie, tie-dye leggings, and carrying a dark green backpack.
Friends and family have been making minute-long videos sharing memories of Kobayashi to distribute under the hashtag "#FindHannah." Thus far, Pidgeon said, about 30 people have sent videos, a testament to "how incredible she is."
"I'm just grateful for all the other best wishes and support from the community and Hawaii, New York, California, every everywhere," Kobayashi's father, Ryan Kobayashi, told Fox News Digital. "You know, it's just amazing. We miss you, Hannah. We love you. There's just a word anywhere. I'll start."
Anyone with information is asked to call the family at 845-750-3006.