A Hawaiian photographer, who vanished en route to what she described as a "bucket list" vacation in New York City, has fled to Mexico to "disconnect" from the modern world, authorities said. Hannah Kobayashi, 30, was last heard from after she missed a connecting flight at Los Angeles International Airport on November 8. A few days later, her family reported her missing when they received strange and cryptic text messages suggesting someone had stolen her identity.
On Monday, the Los Angeles Police Department declared Ms Kobayashi a "voluntary missing person," confirming she was seen crossing into Mexico on her own accord. But her family insists the search is not over.
What we know about Hannah Kobayashi
Hannah Kobayashi is a 30-year-old photographer from Maui, Hawaii. She is 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs about 63.5 kg, has brown hair and hazel eyes, a knife tattoo on her forearm, and freckles on her face, as per the LA Times.
An artist, she often shared mandala and geometric art on her Instagram account.
She went missing after failing to board a connecting flight from LA to New York City. She was travelling to spend time with an aunt in upstate New York and planned to photograph a show in Brooklyn on November 13.
After missing her flight, she was seen at the Taschen bookstore near The Grove in Los Angeles on November 9 from where she sent a photo of a book to a relative. She also attended an event at the Nike store on November 10 and posted a black-and-white photo on Instagram. Her family believes she was staying around The Grove, a popular tourist area.
On November 11, surveillance footage showed her boarding a Metro train with an unidentified person and exiting at the Pico station around 10 pm. The family is concerned as this station is not near any hotels.
Her father, Ryan Kobayashi, travelled to Los Angeles to search for his daughter. After nearly two weeks of searching, Mr Ryan was found dead on November 18, having died by suicide. The family described his loss as a "devastating tragedy".
Her sister, Sydni, has set up a GoFundMe campaign to support her family. It has so far raised over USD 47,629 (over Rs 40 lakh).
