The money raised online to help find a missing young woman has reportedly caused infighting amongst her family as they row over what to do with it.
During a layover at Los Angeles International Airport three weeks ago, Hannah Kobayashi mysteriously vanished when she was meant to board a connecting flight to New York. She is said to have sent concerning texts to loved ones, who feared the worst, reports the Mirror.
After tirelessly searching for the woman, her father, Ryan Kobayashi, took his own life. However, just days ago investigators claim security footage from the US-Mexico border near Tijuana, about 145 miles from Los Angeles, shows her between November 12 and 13, about a day after she disappeared and about 11 days before her dad ended his life.
However, now the missing woman’s various relatives are fighting over how to keep her story in the headlines and what to do with the $50,000 (about £40,000) raised online to help look for her.
The row spilled out into public this week when Ms Kobayashi’s sister Sydni blasted her aunt Larie Pidgeon, who had become the family’s unofficial spokesperson for updates on the search for the missing 30-year-old. Sydni has said that Ms Pidgeon doesn’t speak for the family.
She told News Nation: “It’s really unfortunate when you have to question family. The fact that she has gone rogue and wants to disconnect from [our effort], that’s on her.”
The aunt however hit back telling The Post that Sydni is “throwing her under the bus” because she wants the limelight of national TV interviews. “They want to be the face. They want to be the whole thing. It’s really sad,” she added.
Texting a friend before she went missing, Ms Kobayashi said she had a “spiritual awakening” and was later seen in the company of a mystery man on November 11, days before the CCTV was said to have spotted her in Mexico.
Speaking to Mail Online, Hannah’s worried sister Sydni told reporters: “We do remain hopeful and optimistic that the Los Angeles Police Department is doing everything in their power to assist us in locating Hannah…. Intuitively knowing her and being so close to her my entire life, I just know this is absolutely not like her.”
Speaking on November 26, police in LA stressed they were sure Hannah intended to miss her connection. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said “the investigation determined that Hannah’s missed connection was intentional”.
“On November 15, our missing persons unit assumed investigative responsibility. Detectives have been diligently reviewing video surveillance and employing various investigative techniques to locate Hannah, while her family has continued their personal search efforts.”
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