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Hannah Kobayashi, the missing Hawaii woman whose disappearance sparked a massive search and missing persons investigation in Los Angeles, has been found safe and well, police said Wednesday.
Kobayashi disappeared last month in Los Angeles. He missed his connecting flight and planned to explore the city the next day. But subsequent text messages to her family, and the inability to locate her, alarmed them so much that they later reported her missing.
Other details about her disappearance, as well as where and how she was found, were not immediately available Wednesday, but police previously said she was “voluntarily missing” and had voluntarily crossed the border into Mexico.
“We are happy to hear that Hannah has been found safe and healthy,” the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said in a statement. “Now that we have this new information, this has become a private matter and we will conclude our investigation.”
Kobayashi’s mother and sister, in a statement through her lawyer, were the first to announce Wednesday that she had been found safe and healthy.
“We are incredibly relieved and grateful,” Brandi Yee and Sydni Kobayashi wrote.
SEE | Kobayashi went to Mexico, police say:
Det. Douglas Oldfield of the Los Angeles police says Hannah Kobayashi, the American woman who has not been seen in nearly a month, was alone and did not appear in danger in surveillance footage from Nov. 12 at the U.S.-U.S. border. Mexico.
“The past month has been an unimaginable trial for our family and we kindly ask for privacy as we take the time to heal and process everything we have been through. We want to express our sincerest gratitude to everyone who supported us during this difficult time. Yours Kindness and concern have meant a lot to us.”
Kobayashi, a budding photographer from Maui, was headed to New York City on Nov. 8 for a new job and visiting family when she missed a connecting flight during a layover at Los Angeles International Airport. He told his family he was going to sleep at the airport that night and texted them the next day to tell them he was sightseeing in Los Angeles.
Her family reported her missing to authorities on Nov. 11 after relatives received “strange and cryptic, just alarming” text messages, according to her aunt Larie Pidgeon.
“Once the family started pushing, she was left in the dark,” Pidgeon told The Associated Press late last month. After the text messages on Nov. 11, his phone “just died,” Pidgeon said.
Family, friends and local volunteers searched for Hannah in Los Angeles. Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, was among those who flew from Hawaii to help in the search. He was found dead Nov. 24 in a parking lot near Los Angeles International Airport, according to the county medical examiner. Kobayashi’s family confirmed the death in a statement the same day, saying they had “endured a devastating tragedy” and that he committed suicide.
Police said Hannah Kobayashi entered Mexico at the San Ysidro border crossing, about 200 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles, on Nov. 12, a day after her family reported her missing. Authorities made the announcement after reviewing security video from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Kobayashi voluntarily disappeared as he sought to “get away from modern connectivity,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell previously said.
