Family searches for Hannah Kobayashi, who disappeared after missing connecting flight at LAX
LOS ANGELES − A Hawaii woman who missed a connecting flight in Los Angeles is missing after she was seen on camera at the airport and a major shopping center, according to her family and police.
Hannah Kobayashi, 31, was last heard from Nov. 11, her family says, after she had missed a connecting flight from Maui to New York City at Los Angeles International Airport days earlier on Nov. 8.
Kobayashi is described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing about 140 pounds and has brown hair and eyes, and fair skin with freckles. The family filed a missing person’s report with the Los Angeles Police Department on Nov. 12.
Larie Pidgeon, Kobayashi’s aunt, told USA TODAY on Sunday that the family received text messages from Kobayashi that were out of character just before her disappearance.
“On (Nov. 11), we started getting texts saying that she didn’t feel safe, that someone was trying to steal her funds, that someone was trying to take her identity,” Pidgeon said. “Weird things, calling us babe, things that weren’t quite the normal way that she speaks.”
USA TODAY has reached out to LAPD for more information.
Kobayashi disappearance timeline
The family has obtained security footage showing Kobayashi leaving the airport on Nov. 8 wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, tie-dye leggings and a dark green backpack.
Pidgeon said Kobayashi had been seen twice at The Grove shopping center, approximately 10 miles northeast of LAX. She was seen once around noon by employees at the shopping center’s Taschen book store on Nov. 9 and was seen on video at a Nike event around 3:40 p.m. on Nov. 10. A photo from the two-day Nike and LeBron James event was posted to her Instagram the same day.
Kobayashi returned to LAX on Nov. 11 but did not board a flight, according to the family, citing airport staffers. Kobayashi’s phone, which has an Audrey Hepburn case, last pinged at LAX on Nov. 11 but has not been found.
Search focusing on train near airport
Kobayashi’s family has arrived in Los Angeles to search for her. Pidgeon said the search has focused on the area near LAX, a bus line as well as the C and K-Line trains of the Los Angeles Metro.
The family started a GoFundMe page to offset costs associated with the search. Pidgeon said the family hopes to find Kobayashi but recognizes that time is of the essence.
“It’s been seven days, but in dog years,” Pidgeon said. “With trafficking, with kidnapping, that could be like three months.”
Persons with information on Kobayashi’s whereabouts are asked to call LAPD at 1-877-527-3247 or The Rad Movement at 619-904-0840.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hannah Kobayashi: Missing woman disappeared after missed LAX flight
#Family #searches #Hannah #Kobayashi #disappeared #missing #connecting #flight #LAX