A missing woman, whose dad took his own life after failing to find her, disappeared voluntarily, police have said.
Hannah Kobayashi, 30, missed a connecting flight from Hawaii to New York in Los Angeles on 8 November and vanished days later after sending “alarming” texts to her family.
Her father Ryan retraced her footsteps with relatives and volunteers, but was found dead in a car park near a Los Angeles airport on 24 November.
Overnight, police said Hannah wanted to “step away from modern connectivity” and was last seen crossing into Mexico with her luggage.
Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell said there was no evidence Hannah was trafficked or a victim of a crime and classified her disappearance as a “voluntary missing person”.
“We’ve basically done everything we can do at this point. She’s left the country and is in another nation now,” he said, adding she has a right to privacy but should contact her family.
“A simple message could reassure those who care about her.”
The case will remain active until her safety is confirmed and they will be notified if she returns to the US, he said.
Pic: Missing Persons of America
Hannah had been seen around Los Angeles, police said, and had asked or her luggage to be sent back to her from New York – picking it up from the airport on 11 November and leaving without her phone.
Investigators found she “expressed the desire to step away from modern connectivity”.
Officers have questioned a man Hannah was seen with on a train, describing him as “cooperative”.
Last week, detectives determined Hannah missed her connecting flight intentionally, though her sister, Sydni, disputed his statement in a social media post.
CCTV images reviewed by police showed her walking alone and unharmed through a tunnel in San Ysidro, 125 miles southwest of Los Angeles, at midday on 12 November.
Ryan Kobayashi. Pic: PA
It comes after Hannah’s family said they started to receive “strange and cryptic, just alarming” texts from her before she disappeared.
These messages referenced her being “intercepted” as she got on a train and being scared someone was trying to steal her identity.
Her aunt Larie Pidgeon said “she went dark” once the family “started pressing”.
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Sky News US partner network NBC News reported one of the texts received by Hannah’s family read: “I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds for someone I thought I loved.”
Shortly after the message was sent, her father flew out to Los Angeles from Hawaii to search for her for 13 days.
The family said his loss ” compounded the family’s suffering immeasurably”.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
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Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.
Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.
The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.
In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”
Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”
Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP
People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters
A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.
“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.
A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters
A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.
Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
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Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP
Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”
The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.
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