Hannah Kobayashi, the Hawaiian woman who mysteriously vanished last month sparking a massive search effort, has broken her silence to claim she was “unaware” of the huge firestorm surrounding her disappearance.
Kobayashi, 31, returned safely back to the United States from Mexico on Sunday nearly a month after her family reported her missing on November 11.
“At daybreak on December 15th, I crossed the border back into the United States. My focus now is on my healing, my peace and my creativity. I am deeply grateful to my family and everyone who has shown me kindness and compassion during this time,” she said, according to a statement shared by NBC News that was sent from her aunt’s cell phone.
“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.”
The photographer from Maui went missing on November 8 while traveling from Hawaii to New York City via LAX for what she described as a “bucket list” trip.
She failed to catch her connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York and reportedly sent family members and friends a series of cryptic text messages that suggested she might be in trouble.
For two weeks, a massive search was launched but turned up nothing.
Her father Ryan Kobayashi, who flew to Los Angeles to look for her, was found dead near LAX in the early hours of November 24 of an apparent suicide.
Los Angeles police later confirmed Kobayashi had walked across the border into Mexico and classified her as a “voluntary missing person.” The department announced Monday that it closed her missing person case.
Her family said that they would return the nearly $50,000 in GoFundMe donations they received for search and rescue efforts.
It’s still unclear why Kobayashi went to Mexico.
