The sister of 30-year-old Hannah Kobayashi said Tuesday that police’s conclusion that she is a “voluntarily missing person” is not satisfactory.
Appearing with family attorney Sara Azari on NBC News NOW’s “Top Story With Tom Llamas,” Sydni Kobayashi said family members should have seen the video that Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said shows Hannah crossing into Mexico alone at a pedestrian port of entry in San Diego on November 12.
McDonnell said there is not much more the department can do and that it has classified the case as a voluntary detachment case with no suspicion of foul play.
“We are as confused and as frustrated as anything right now,” said Sydni Kobayashi.
Hannah Kobayashi.
Azari agreed and questioned how police could reach such a conclusion without involving the people closest to Hannah, who disappeared after landing at Los Angeles International Airport from Honolulu on Nov. 8 and had missed a connecting flight to her final destination, New York City.
“They just came to this conclusion… without showing them any footage,” Azari said, referring to family members. “It takes a lot more digging and research to say it’s voluntary.”
Sydni Kobayashi said she fears Hannah, who is from Maui, may be a victim of human trafficking, which McDonnell said Monday is not suspected. She said she doesn’t understand how Hannah is out of contact almost a month after leaving Hawaii.
“She always stayed closer to me than anyone else in our lives,” she said.
The Los Angeles Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.
Azari said the family would use volunteers to look for Hannah in Mexico. Authorities say investigators will likely be alerted if Hannah returns to the U.S. through an official U.S.-Mexico border crossing or port.
In the meantime, her sister urged her to reach out.
“I can’t emphasize enough how loved you are, how supported you are,” she said. ‘We’re really worried about you. Whatever situation you are in, you always have a home to go to.’
McDonnell said at a news conference Monday that he saw the need for family members to communicate with Hannah, and he urged her to reach out.
“She is entitled to her privacy and we respect her choices, but we also understand the concern her loved ones feel for her,” he said. “A simple message could reassure those who care about her.”
After missing her connecting flight, Hannah spent the next few days sightseeing in Los Angeles, sending text messages that a family member described as “alarming” and being seen on security video with an unknown man, according to a family timeline on Facebook and other explanations. made by family members.
“Hannah’s last message to us was alarming – she said she was scared and that someone might try to steal her money and identity,” aunt Larie Pidgeon said on Facebook last month.
McDonnell said at Monday’s news conference that Hannah’s family reported her missing on Nov. 13 and police took over the case two days later.
On the morning of Nov. 12, police said, Hannah was seen unescorted at a Greyhound bus terminal at Union Station, the train depot in downtown Los Angeles.
According to police, at 12:13 a.m. that day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection video showed Kobayashi deliberately entering Mexico at one of the busy land ports in San Diego. She has not been seen since.
On Monday evening, McDonnell announced that Hannah was voluntarily separated from her daily life and that there was no evidence of human trafficking or foul play.
He also said she had luggage going to New York City and was diverted to Los Angeles International Airport, where she picked it up the day before crossing into Mexico.
Lt. Douglas Oldfield of the police Missing Persons Unit said investigators who reviewed her social media concluded, but not with complete certainty, that Kobayashi “wanted to disconnect.”
Family members, including Kobayashi’s father, Ryan, gathered in Los Angeles starting in mid-November to lead the search for volunteers, they said.
On November 24, her father died by suicide near Los Angeles International Airport.
“I’m very sorry to the family for everything they’ve been through,” McDonnell said Monday evening.
Relatives and supporters paused their Facebook page during the search for Kobayashi, “Help us find Hannah,” saying in a statement Sunday that it was a conduit for attacks and threats aimed at family members.
On Wednesday, a new statement from Kobayashi’s family said they are “determined to do everything possible to bring her home” and that learning of her stay in Mexico has only “increased” their fear for her.
While the statement expressed gratitude for the urgency of law enforcement, the family noted communication issues with the LAPD.
“It has been an agonizing 22 days since we last heard from her, and it is heartbreaking not to know where she is or if she is okay,” the family said. “Like everyone else, we learn updates through the media because the LAPD is not fully prepared to share critical developments directly with us.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255text HOME to 741741 or stop by SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
