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A Maui woman missed her flight and then disappeared. Her family fear she has been kidnapped after receiving chilling text messages
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A Maui woman missed her flight and then disappeared. Her family fear she has been kidnapped after receiving chilling text messages

It’s been almost two weeks since 30-year-old Hannah Kobayashi missed a connecting flight in Los Angeles.

Although she was supposed to meet her aunt in New York for a “bucket list” trip, the Hawaii native was spotted in various places in LA throughout the weekend, including downtown with an unknown person.

In the latest tragic update, her father Ryan Kobayashi was found dead near LAX on Sunday, police said. He had traveled to the city to help search for his daughter.

Meanwhile, a series of suspicious text messages have also been sent from Kobayashi’s phone, but she is now silent, leading her family to fear she may have been kidnapped.

This is what we know:

Where did she go?

The 30-year-old left her hometown of Maui, Hawaii, on Nov. 8 to visit her aunt in New York City — a trip she described in her handwritten itinerary as “bucket list dreams come true.”

Kobayashi was supposed to fly to New York via California, with a 42-minute stopover in Los Angeles, but appears to have missed the connection.

Her mother, Brandi Yee, said her sister — Kobayashi’s aunt — was meeting her daughter at her hotel and going to a show that evening.

Surveillance footage shows Hannah Kobayashi arriving at Los Angeles International Airport on November 8

Surveillance footage shows Hannah Kobayashi arriving at Los Angeles International Airport on November 8 (Sydni Kobayashi/Facebook)

Kobayashi had planned the trip with a boyfriend she had since broken up with. The pair were on the same flight but had decided to go their separate ways once they landed at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Lee said the man made the connecting flight to JFK and has been extremely responsive and cooperative with the investigation.

Where was she last seen?

A photo of Kobayashi showed her getting off the plane at Los Angeles airport on November 8.

The next day, she was seen at a Taschen bookstore in The Grove shopping center in LA’s Fairfax neighborhood. Her family said they don’t know why. According to her sister, Sydni Kobayashi, she then sent a Venmo payment to two people whose names the family does not recognize.

A video posted to YouTube on Sunday, November 10, showed Kobayashi at the LeBron XXII Trial Experience, an event held at the Nike store, also in The Grove. A photo from the event also appeared to have been posted to her Instagram account.

That day, family and friends received “weird” text messages from Kobayashi, but never heard from her again.

However, a day later, on November 11, surveillance video around a metro station in downtown Los Angeles, near the Crypto.com arena, showed her with an unknown person. Her family said in the images that she “doesn’t appear to be in good condition.”

“She is not safe, and she is not alone,” her aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told KTLA 5.

‘Weird’ lyrics

The 30-year-old missed her connecting flight to New York and has not been heard from by her family since November 11. However, suspicious text messages were sent to them from her phone

The 30-year-old missed her connecting flight to New York and has not been heard from by her family since November 11. However, suspicious text messages were sent to them from her phone (Sydni Kobayashi/Facebook)

The family has also raised concerns about a number of “weird” text messages that Kobayashi has sent to several relatives and friends.

On November 11, her mother texted her asking if she had made it to New York, to which the 30-year-old replied no.

She later texted a friend and wrote: “Deep Hackers erased my identity, stole all my money and have had me on their minds since Friday.” Another message read: “I was tricked into giving away all my money,” followed by a message that read: “For someone I thought I loved.”

Her sister described the texts as “really weird.” “She texted her saying she was scared and she couldn’t come home or something,” Sydni Kobayashi told HawaiiNewsNow. “They were just really strange text messages.”

The text messages used words like “hun,” “love” and “babe,” words Kobayashi would not use, her sister said.

“Personally, I don’t think that was my sister,” Sydni Kobayashi said, adding, “It’s weird because it doesn’t sound like her, like there’s just something weird about it… I don’t know if it’s her or if someone else was texting.”

Los Angeles police launched an investigation into Kobayashi’s disappearance with the help of the FBI, but her sister said online that police “didn’t provide much help.”

Speaking to CNN last week, her aunt Larie Pigeon added: “Our thoughts right now are kidnapping and, I hate to say the word, but you know, human trafficking.

“We are doing our best, but at this point the family needs to come to the reality that these things are possible.”

Tragic death of her father

Hannah's father Ryan Kobayashi was found dead in Los Angeles

Hannah’s father Ryan Kobayashi was found dead in Los Angeles (Fox News)

Bringing fresh grief to the family, Hannah’s father Ryan Kobayashi was found dead early Sunday morning in Los Angeles near LAX, police said.

He died in an apparent suicide, according to Los Angeles police, NBC Los Angeles reported, and was found in a parking lot near the airport.

Ryan had traveled to LA to help search for his daughter. Just a few days before he died, he handed out missing persons flyers around town and said he would do everything in his power to find Hannah.

“We’re just trying to get as much information as we can,” he previously told HawaiiNewsNow. “Would you like to make it known… has anyone seen my daughter?”

“She is an amazing person who brings joy to so many people,” he added.

If you live in the US and you or someone you know needs mental health care right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis line that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go there www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.