HONOLULU (KHNL/Gray News) – The family of a missing girl remains determined to find her even after the unexpected death of her father who had gone to Los Angeles to take part in the search.
The search for Hannah Kobayashi continues and her sister, Sydni Kobayashi, says she is trying to remain hopeful despite what has been happening.
“I want to stay hopeful, but with this being back-to-back, I feel lost. I feel devastated. I feel heartbroken,” Sydni Kobayashi said.
She is still reeling from the shock of losing her father, Ryan, after he leaped to his death from a parking garage near the Los Angeles airport. He had been looking for his missing daughter for 13 days.
“He wasn’t sleeping. He wasn’t eating, and he cared so much about others’ feelings and taking care of the rest of the family out there. He didn’t want to speak out on his own about how he was feeling,” Sydni Kobayashi said.
She added, “We just never saw this coming. I’m not even angry with him. I know that he fought his hardest.”
The Thanksgiving holiday is also a stark reminder of Hannah Kobayashi’s absence. Hannah Kobayashi has been missing since Nov. 11 when she was last seen alive in downtown Los Angeles.
The family says they have been frustrated with the lack of information given by authorities, but more tips are coming in.
“I don’t think that people understand the number of tips that are coming in that we have to filter out and we can’t release anything until it’s 100 percent accurate,” Sydni Kobayashi said.
And the family is also trying to remain grateful this Thanksgiving.
“We are thankful for having each other to fall back on through this time, but tomorrow is going to be a very hard day,” Sydni Kobayashi said. “She was supposed to come to Maui and be with us.”
Sydni Kobayashi is vowing to keep the search for her sister going for their father.
“I know that he wants us to find my sister,” she said. “I know that he’s watching over us right now, and I know that’s what he wanted. And that’s what’s keeping me going right now.”
Private investigator Debra Allen said the family is doing right by keeping current with the search.
“They’re doing the right thing by keeping this front of mind and keeping it on topic,” Allen said. “There’s a lot of people that go missing, and she doesn’t want to be just one of the many.”
Allen handles missing persons cases but is not involved in the search for Hannah Kobayashi.
She said because the case has gained national attention, Hannah Kobayashi likely would have heard about the search for her and about her father’s death.
Anyone with tips on Hannah Kobayashi’s whereabouts is asked to call Los Angeles Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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