LAPD says Hannah Kobayashi has been found safe, a month after her family reported her missing

Hannah Kobayashi, the missing Hawaii woman whose disappearance sparked a massive search and missing persons investigation in Los Angeles, has been found safe, 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 reach them afterward, 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 he crossed the border willingly in Mexico

“We are pleased to hear that Hannah has been found safe,” 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 complete our investigation.”

Kobayashi’s mother and sister, in a statement through his lawyer, were the first to announce Wednesday that he had been found safe.

“We are incredibly relieved and grateful,” wrote Brandi Yee and Sydni Kobayashi.

LOOK | Kobayashi went to Mexico, police say:

Nothing went wrong when Hannah Kobayashi crossed the border, police say

Det. Douglas Oldfield of the Los Angeles Police Department says Hannah Kobayashi, the American woman who has not been seen in nearly a month, was unaccompanied and did not appear in danger in surveillance footage from Nov. 12 at the border between USA and Mexico.

“This past month has been an unimaginable ordeal for our family, and we kindly ask for privacy while we take time to heal and process everything we’ve been through. We want to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has supported us during this time difficult. Your kindness and concern meant the world to us.”

Kobayashi, a budding photographer from Maui, was on her way to New York City on Nov. 8 for a new job and to visit relatives when she missed a connecting flight during a layover at Los Angeles International Airport. He told his family he was sleeping at the airport that night and texted them the next day to say he was sightseeing in Los Angeles.

Her family reported her missing to law enforcement on Nov. 11 after relatives received text messages that were “strange and cryptic, just alarming,” according to her aunt Larie Pidgeon.

“Once the family started pushing, it went dark,” Pidgeon told The Associated Press late last month. After the Nov. 11 text messages, her phone “just went off,” 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 with the search. He was found dead Nov. 24 in a parking lot near LA 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 November 12, the day after her family reported her missing. Authorities made the announcement after reviewing security video from US Customs and Border Protection.

Kobayashi voluntarily disappeared while trying to “get away from modern connectivity,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell previously said.