Father of missing Maui woman Hannah Kobayashi found dead in LA as search continues
Ryan Kobayashi, 58, was found dead in the early hours of Sunday in a parking lot near LAX airport
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The father of missing Maui woman Hannah Kobayashi has been found dead in Los Angeles as the desperate search for the 30-year-old continues.
Ryan Kobayashi, 58, was found dead in the early hours of Sunday in a parking lot near LAX airport, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, NBC Los Angeles reported. He is believed to have died by suicide.
Just a few days earlier, Ryan was handing out missing persons flyers to people in the streets of LA as he said he would do everything in his power to find his daughter.
“She’s a wonderful person who brings joy to so many people,” he told reporters at the time.
Ryan had traveled to LA to help search for his daughter, who has been missing since November 8 when she stopped over at Los Angeles International Airport on her way from Hawaii to New York City.
Hannah was set to meet her aunt Geordan Montalvo and her aunt’s husband Bob in New York and they all had tickets to go to a concert on November 12 together. The vacation was described as a bucket list trip.
But, the 30-year-old missed her connecting flight at LAX on November 8.
The following day, she was spotted at a bookstore at The Grove, a popular outdoor mall in LA. One day later, she was seen at a LeBron James event.
On November 11, surveillance video captured her at a downtown Los Angeles Metro stop with a person not known to her family.
Larie Pidgeon, Hannah’s aunt told KTLA 5 her niece did not look well. “She is not safe, and she is not alone,” she said.
Her family previously told the Daily Mail that police had waited 10 days after Hannah went missing to contact them as they condemned the slow-moving investigation.
Before she disappeared, Hannah had sent cryptic texts to a friend saying she had been “tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds” to “someone I thought I loved.”
Her sister, Sydni Kobayashi, described the texts as “really weird.” Hannah added that she was scared and couldn’t come back home.
Then the texts suddenly stopped.
Hannah is 5ft 10ins and weighs about 140 pounds. She has brown hair and eyes, and fair skin with freckles.
The search for Hannah continues.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments