The sister of 30-year-old Hannah Kobayashi said Tuesday the police conclusion that she is a “voluntary missing person” is not satisfactory.
Appearing with family lawyer Sara Azari on NBC News NOW’s “Top Story With Tom Llamas,” Sydni Kobayashi said relatives should have been shown the video that Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said shows Hannah crossing into Mexico alone at a pedestrian port of entry in San Diego on Nov. 12.
McDonnell said that there’s not much more the department can do and that it has classified the case as one of a voluntary detachment with no foul play suspected.
“We’re just as confused and just as frustrated more than anything now,” Sydni Kobayashi said.
Azari agreed, questioning how police could come to such a conclusion without involving those closest to Hannah, who disappeared after she landed at Los Angeles International Airport from Honolulu on Nov. 8 and missed a connecting flight to her final destination, New York City.
“They just reached this conclusion … without showing them any footage,” Azari said, referring to family members. “It takes a lot more digging and investigation to be able to say it’s voluntary.”
Sydni Kobayashi said she fears Hannah, who’s from Maui, may be the victim of human trafficking, which McDonnell said Monday isn’t suspected. She said she can’t see how Hannah can remain out of touch nearly a month after she left Hawaii.
“She always kept close to me more than anyone in our lives,” she said.
Los Angeles police didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.
Azari said the family would deploy supporters to look for Hannah in Mexico. Authorities said investigators are likely to be alerted if Hannah returns to the U.S. via an official U.S.-Mexico crossing or port.
In the meantime, her sister urged her to reach out.
“I can’t stress enough how loved you are, how supported you are,” she said. “We’re really worried about you. No matter what situation you’re in, you always have a home to come to.”
A collective statement from Hannah’s family on Tuesday was less mistrusting, as it expressed gratitude to police and said the search will continue, if only to ensure she’s safe.
“The search is far from over, and we are committed to doing everything possible to bring her home safely,” the statement said.
McDonnell said Monday at a news conference that he saw the need for relatives to communicate with Hannah, and he urged her to reach out.
“She has a right to her privacy, and we respect her choices, but we also understand the concern her loved ones feel for her,” he said. “A simple message could reassure those who care about her.”
After she missed her connecting flight, Hannah spent the next few days sightseeing in Los Angeles, sending texts that a family member described as “alarming” and being seen on security video with an unknown man, according to a family timeline on Facebook and other statements made by relatives.
“Hannah’s last message to us was alarming — she mentioned feeling scared, and that someone might be trying to steal her money and identity,” aunt Larie Pidgeon said on Facebook last month.
McDonnell said at Monday’s news conference that family reported her missing Nov. 13 and that police took over the case two days later.
On the morning of Nov. 12, police said, Hannah was seen unaccompanied at a Greyhound bus terminal at Union Station, the downtown Los Angeles train depot.
At 12:13 p.m. that day, according to police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection video showed Kobayashi willfully crossing into Mexico at one of the busy land ports in San Diego. She hasn’t been spotted since.
On Monday evening, McDonnell announced that Hannah was voluntarily separated from her day-to-day world and isn’t the subject of trafficking or foul play.
He also said she had luggage that went to New York City rerouted back to Los Angeles International Airport, where she picked it up the day before she crossed into Mexico.
Lt. Douglas Oldfield of the police department’s Missing Persons Unit said at the news conference that investigators who reviewed her social media concluded, but not with total certainty, that Kobayashi “wanted to disconnect.”
Relatives, including Kobayashi’s father, Ryan, gathered in Los Angeles starting in mid-November to direct volunteer search efforts, they said.
On Nov. 24, her father died by suicide near Los Angeles International Airport.
“I’m very sorry to the family for all that they’ve been through,” McDonnell said Monday evening.
Relatives and supporters paused their Facebook page on the search for Kobayashi, “Help Us Find Hannah,” saying in a statement Sunday that it was a channel for attacks and threats targeting relatives.
Other relatives indicated the news that Kobayashi may be isolating herself from her everyday world hasn’t detoured their search.
“We want answers and a resolution that ensures Hannah’s safety and urge law enforcement and the public to stay focused on finding her and to avoid speculative conclusions,” the family said in its statement Tuesday.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
