Hannah Kobayashi breaks silence to say she was ‘unaware of everything’ after dad’s suicide…& will ‘focus on creativity’
HANNAH Kobayashi has broken her silence and claimed she was unaware of her dad’s tragic suicide weeks after her disappearance.
The 30-year-old sparked a mass manhunt after she unexpectedly vanished and crossed into Mexico.
The worst was feared when Kobayashi was traveling from Hawaii to New York but failed to catch her connecting flight from Los Angeles on November 8.
The photographer from Hawaii was safely located a month after she went missing but she released a statement on Monday.
Kobayashi revealed that she crossed back into the US after her unexplained trip to Mexico.
“At daybreak on December 15th, I crossed the border back into the United States,” she said.
“My focus now is on my healing, my peace and my creativity.”
Kobayashi thanked her family but revealed she was unaware of her father’s suicide.
Her missing persons case took a tragic turn when her dad, Ryan Kobayashi, was found dead in a Los Angeles parking garage on November 24.
He had spent weeks searching for his daughter and died of a broken heart, the family announced.
“I am deeply grateful to my family and everyone who has shown me kindness and compassion during this time,” she added.
“I was unaware of everything that was happening in the media while I was away, and I am still processing it all.
“I kindly ask for respect for myself, my family, and my loved ones as I navigate through this challenging time. Thank you for your understanding.”
A huge manhunt was sparked on November 11 when she was reported missing by her family, three days after she failed to catch her second flight.
The photographer’s friends and family had received cryptic and mysterious texts before they raised the alarm.
One of the messages said she had been tricked into giving away money to somebody.
It read: “I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds for someone I thought I loved.”
At the time, her sister Sydni Kobayashi believed someone else could have been behind those messages.
“[It] feels like someone was controlling her,” she told NewsNation CUOMO.
Kobayashi was seen across Los Angeles in the days following her disappearance, including a sighting at Pico Station with an unidentified male.
Her family then traveled to the mainland to search for the 30-year-old, but this took a tragic turn when her father died of suicide.
After scouring LA’s Skid Row, an area known for crime and drug use, for nearly a week, Ryan jumped to his death from an LAX parking lot.
CASE CLOSED
The huge manhunt came to an end as the photographer confirmed she was safely back in the US.
Kobayashi is said to be in California and in a good condition, but it is unclear where the photographer is staying.
She returned based on her own free will, according to reports.
A member of the Los Angeles Police Department’s missing persons unit, Lt. Doug Oldfield, has now confirmed that her case is closed.
He also confirmed that she did not “appear to be under any distress” when she spoke with Customs and Border Protection upon her arrival.
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