Police have issued a major update on missing woman Hana Kobayashi as she revealed why she missed her flight before she disappeared.
A massive search has been launched for Hannah, who was last seen on November 11, in Los Angeles, after a series of unexpected and disturbing updates emerged about her case.
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The 30-year-old failed to board her connecting flight for the trip of a lifetime to New York, after leaving her home in Hawaii on November 8.
She was then seen at a library an hour from LAX the next day but was still missing.
Police revealed the results of their investigation into Hannah not boarding her second flight on Tuesday at a meeting of the Los Angeles Police Board of Commissioners.
“On Friday, November 8, 23-year-old Hana Kobayashi missed her connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York, which the investigation determined was intentional,” Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said.
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“Over the next few days, she maintained contact with her family and remained active on Instagram.”
He added: “Our thoughts are with the Kobayashi family during this unimaginable time of grief.
“We are fully committed to locating Hannah and supporting the family as they make their way through this tragedy.”
The search for Hannah took a series of unusual turns such as a slew of encrypted text messages sent from her phone on November 10.
One message said she had been tricked into donating money to someone she loved.
“I was pretty much tricked into donating all my money to someone I thought I loved,” it read.
These messages caused great concern, as her sister, Sydney Kobayashi, said that the text messages may have been sent by someone else.
Speaking to NewsNation CUOMO, she said; “[It] She feels as if someone is controlling her.
“Knowing her intuitively and being close to her my whole life, I know this is nothing like her.”
The mystery deepened when Hannah was spotted at a Nike event in Los Angeles on the same day.
The disappearance of Hana Kobayashi
Hana Kobayashi has been missing since she missed her flight to New York.
Friday 8 November: Kobayashi departs her home in Maui and arrives in Los Angeles on her connecting flight to New York City. She has 42 minutes to make the 11 p.m. flight.
Saturday 9 November: Kobayashi is supposed to land at JFK Airport in New York City at 7 a.m. but he never arrives.
She was spotted at a bookstore in The Grove, an hour from LAX.
Sunday 10 November: Kobayashi sends a message saying she is scared and worried about someone trying to steal her money and identity, along with several other cryptic text messages.
She was later seen at an event at The Grove again in Los Angeles, and attended a Nike event.
Monday 11 November: Kobayashi's phone takes her back to LAX. She posts a photo on her Instagram account from the event. Then her phone turns off.
Wednesday 13 November: Family Files Missing Person Report.
They were told she was last seen at the Pico station in downtown Los Angeles with an unidentified man.
Sunday 24 November: Hannah Ryan's father was found dead in a Los Angeles parking lot after he committed suicide.
By November 11, Hannah's phone took her back to Los Angeles International Airport and she posted a photo on her Instagram account of the Nike event.
Then her phone was turned off.
Hannah was seen again on November 11 at the Pico Metro station in downtown Los Angeles with an unknown man.
Her family, who watched the surveillance footage, said she did not look well and feared she had been kidnapped or trafficked.
The family, who had traveled to Los Angeles to search for Hannah, were dealt a second tragic blow when the missing woman's father, Ryan, was found dead in a car park on November 24.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide.
Ryan was said to have searched some of Los Angeles' most dangerous neighborhoods, including a popular skate spot, for his girl.
“Imagine looking at places like Skid Row, imagining his daughter being sexually trafficked, and not getting sleep,” Hannah's aunt, Larry, told the New York Post.
“It just broke.”
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