HONOLULU (KHNL/Gray News) – Hannah Kobayashi intentionally missed her connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York City, police said. However, her family disagrees.
Kobayashi was traveling from Hawaii to New York City with a connecting flight at LAX on Nov. 8. However, she never made it onto the plane.
That same day, her family said Kobayashi sent concerning text messages to a friend that said she was scared.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Kobayashi “intentionally” missed her connecting flight.
The Kobayashi family said the public announcement caught them off-guard.
“The way that it kind of seems to state it is she went out and about to do her own thing,” said her sister, Sydni Kobayashi.
She fears the new information might discourage people from searching for her.
She’s also disturbed that the police chief said Hannah was 23 years old instead of her actual age of 30.
“To hear that and not to have it run by our family first, but to get her age wrong after that, it’s very discouraging,” said Sydni.
Sydni continued saying, “I don’t want to bash the LAPD. I don’t want to discredit them if they are doing what they are doing, but at this time it makes us very confused as to where they are at”
Sydni said she continues to believe that Kobayashi is in danger.
One reason is that even if she decided to go off the grid, Kobayashi would have reached out after her father, who spent 13 days looking for her in Los Angeles, was found dead.
“With my father’s passing, with it being everywhere, in her right state of mind she would have never thought to not reach out to anybody,” said Sydni.
Meanwhile, LAPD on Tuesday said they intend to bring the 30-year-old home.
“Our hearts go out to the Kobayashi family during this unimaginable time of grief,” said McDonnell. “We remain fully committed to locating Hannah and supporting the family as they navigate this tragedy.”
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