Remember the twisted case of Hannah Kobayashi? This name went viral a few months ago when she mysteriously disappeared in between her connecting flights, and a full-blown search was carried out, which lasted for a month. Her worried father flew to Los Angeles, her last known location, as he was desperate to find his missing daughter. With no information about her whereabouts for weeks, the missing woman’s father eventually gave up on his life.
Nearly six months after her father’s death by suicide, she has broken her silence on social media. She posted an Instagram story in which she briefly talked about her pain and grief. Before we get into it, let’s look at the event’s timeline.
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Who is Hannah Kobayashi, and how did she vanish?
Hannah Kobayashi is a photographer living in Hawaii. On November 8, 2024, she left Maui and was heading to New York City to attend a concert and meet a family member. She had a connecting flight from LA, but she never boarded it. It seemed like she vanished in thin air as nobody knew what happened to her or where she went. Even her phone was left behind at the Los Angeles International Airport. This sparked panic among her family and loved ones.
Before her disappearance, she sent cryptic messages to her family. One of them reads, “I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds. For someone I thought I loved.”
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After no communication for days, her family eventually reported her missing on November 11. The news of her mysterious disappearance spread like wildfire as people speculated that something wrong had happened to her. Her worried father, Ryan Kobayashi, flew to LA because he wanted to help with the search.
Two weeks after Hannah’s disappearance, her father’s dead body was found in the parking lot near LA airport. The medical authorities confirmed that the 58-year-old died by suicide. The grief-stricken father had jumped off a parking structure and he succumbed to multiple blunt force injuries.
Where was Hannah Kobayashi found?
In a major twist, it was found out that Hannah wasn’t in danger at all. In December, a few days after her father’s death, the family shared that Hannah was found safe in Mexico. The cops concluded that her disappearance was “voluntary.” She took a bus to the border and entered Mexico on foot. She returned to the US a few days after she was found.
However, she didn’t publicly mention the reason behind her disappearance. In a chat with People, she said that she was unaware of the media coverage on her.
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“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,” she stated without opening up in detail about her voluntary disappearance and her father’s tragic death.
Hannah Kobayashi finally breaks silence
She recently returned to Instagram and hinted at her grief and pain. In her Insta story, she communicated, “Every day is such a gift, especially after such loss and pain and suffering. We should all learn to be kind to one another.”
Hannah has been receiving criticism for the entire incident because her father lost her life for nothing. She is also often called out for not attending her father’s funeral. On one of the comments that criticized her, she replied, “You don’t know the whole story. My intention in this post is to acknowledge that I am going to speak about my experience — and to stand up against all the hate that was cast upon me.”
“I hope that in your darkest hours, you are shown compassion and love versus hate and judgment,” she added.
On May 4, she posted a picture of trees and wrote an emotional caption which reads, “For all that I have yet to say, the love in my heart remains the same, for every being that exists and those to come. To go deep within and bear witness to your unwavering resilience is a true remembrance. more powerful than you could ever imagine. rise up against tyranny, rise up against hate. Overcome fear~and nothing will ever stop you from becoming that in which you are destined.”
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Hannah says that she plans to tell the full story eventually, as reported by SFGate. She said, “Given my particular situation on the other side of my experience, I understand how some people would choose to cast me in a negative light, but I know who I am, I know my truth and one day, I will share it.”
“I do believe that we can all learn to be kinder to one another because we never really know what someone else has been through unless we’ve walked in their shoes,” Hannah further added.
Currently, the 30-year-old woman is focusing on healing. She told People, “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.”
