The father of missing Hawaii woman Hannah Kobayashi has been found dead in Los Angeles after flying there to search for his daughter, who disappeared earlier this month.
Ryan Kobayashi, 58, was found at about 4 a.m. Sunday in a parking lot near Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said. He apparently committed suicide by jumping off a parking structure, police confirmed to KNBC and other outlets after a nonprofit organization believed to be assisting in the search said as much in a statement.
“The Kobayashi family endured a devastating tragedy today. After tirelessly searching throughout Los Angeles for 13 days, Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life,” the organization said, according to KABC-TV. “This loss has compounded the family’s suffering immeasurably.”
Hannah Kobayashi, 31, vanished while en route to New York City from her native Maui on Nov. 8, a Friday. She was supposed to catch a connecting flight at LAX and land in New York the next day but never arrived.
A few days later, family members back home received disturbing and disjointed text messages from Kobayashi’s phone, including one saying someone was trying to steal her identity, and that she was “really scared.” Around the same time, surveillance video surfaced of her at the Pico Metro Station near Crypto.com Arena, on Nov. 11. She was not alone, and that’s the last anyone saw of her. Her phone goes straight to voicemail.
Ryan Kobayashi immediately flew to Los Angeles to search for his daughter and had been there about two weeks.
“Tragically, Ryan is no longer with us, leaving us all heartbroken and at a loss for words,” wrote the organizer of an online funding drive to support Ryan Kobayashi’s fiancee, Li Jaena.
“He has been living his absolute worst nightmare, since Hannah’s disappearance, and now, with his passing, our family is grappling with unimaginable grief. Ryan’s love for his family was boundless, and he would do anything to protect and care for his daughters.”