LOS ANGELES − Hannah Kobayashi, the Maui woman who went missing in Los Angeles in November, returned to the United States on Sunday, authorities said.
Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Douglas Oldfield told USA TODAY in an email Monday afternoon that the department received a notification that Kobayashi had returned to the United States Sunday and that, “she was observed by U.S. law enforcement to be in good health and did not appear to be under any distress.”
Oldfield added that Kobayashi’s case has been closed.
Doug Kari, an Orange County lawyer, said in the statement provided to USA TODAY that he met Kobayashi in Mexico and accompanied the 30-year-old as her attorney across the border and that she is safe.
“Hannah is deeply grateful to her family and all those who have supported her with kindness and compassion,” the statement read. “Hannah would appreciate respect for herself, her family, and her loved ones during this challenging time.”
What happened to Kobayashi?
Kobayashi had been presumed missing after missing a flight on Nov. 8 while traveling from Hawaii to New York City at Los Angeles International Airport, prompting a large search.
Kobayashi stopped contacting her family on Nov. 11 after what relatives called a string of out-of-character text messages that included mentions of not feeling safe and of someone attempting to steal her identity and money.
During the search, Kobayashi’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, 58, died by suicide near LAX. Kari said Hannah knows about her father’s death.
Members of the Kobayashi family represented by Los Angeles lawyer Sara Azari announced that Hannah had been found Wednesday.
USA TODAY reached out to Azari Monday afternoon who said that her clients did not have a statement on Hannah’s return at the time.
Earlier this month, Larie Pidgeon split with other members of the family, working separately to find Kobayashi, she said in a statement previously provided to USA TODAY. Pidgeon is seen hugging Kobayashi in a handout photo provided to USA TODAY by Kari after she returned to the U.S.
Pidgeon said Monday that her focus remained on Kobayashi’s safety and well-being.
“My family’s journey is their own as well, but I’ve chosen to follow a purpose and doing what’s right for the entire process,” Pidgeon wrote, referencing critical comments made by Kobayashi’s sister, Sydni Kobayashi, who sad she and Kobayashi’s mother did not approve of Pidgeon becoming the “self-appointed point of contact for the media.”
“The negativity and hostility directed toward me won’t change that,” Pidgeon said.
Hannah Kobayashi disappearance timeline
- Nov. 8: Kobayashi misses a connecting flight from Maui to New York City at Los Angeles International Airport. She’s seen on airport security cameras and leaves the airport wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, tie-dye leggings and a dark green backpack.
- Nov. 9: Kobayashi is seen by employees at the Taschen bookstore at The Grove shopping center in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles around noon.
- Nov. 10: Kobayashi is again seen at The Grove, this time on video at a Nike event around 3:40 p.m. She posts a photo from the event to her Instagram the same day.
- Nov. 11:
- Kobayashi returns to LAX where she picks up her luggage, according to the LAPD. Her phone, which has an Audrey Hepburn case, was last pinged at LAX but has not been found.
- Pidgeon previously told USA TODAY that Kobayashi spoke to an American Airlines ticketing agent between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
- Kobayashi uses her passport to purchase a bus ticket for a destination near the California-Mexico border, according to the LAPD.
- Kobayashi is then seen on surveillance cameras near the Pico Metro station in downtown Los Angeles around 10 p.m. The family said in a previous statement that “it is evident that Hannah does not appear to be in good condition and she is not alone.” LAPD investigated the person who appeared on camera with Kobayashi and “gave a full disclosure of the entire sequence of events,” according to Alan Hamilton, the chief of detectives for the LAPD.
- Nov. 12:
- Kobayashi is seen crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near San Ysidro, according to the LAPD. The department, which later reviewed video provided by Customs and Border Protection, said that Kobayashi was alone.
- The family files a missing person’s report with the LAPD and begins a volunteer search in Los Angeles.
- Nov. 24: Ryan Kobayashi is found dead around 4 a.m. at an address adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport. Kobayashi’s family issued a statement through The Rad Movement the same day stating that the death was a suicide.
- Nov. 26: LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell says in a Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners meeting that investigators determined Kobayashi intentionally missed her flight − a claim the family disputed.
- Dec. 2: LAPD announces that it has reclassified the case as a voluntary missing person a day after reviewing the CBP video of Kobayashi crossing the border.
- Dec. 11: Lawyers for the Kobayashi family release a statement on X saying that she has been found.
- Dec. 15: Kobayashi returns to the United States, according to police and her lawyer. The Los Angeles Police Department closed her missing persons case.
