Hannah Kobayashi has been found safe more than a month after her baffling disappearance in Los Angeles, her family announced Wednesday.
“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe,” the family of the 30-year-old from Hawaii said in an attorney-issued statement to local media.
“This past month has been an unimaginable ordeal for our family, and we kindly ask for privacy as we take the time to heal and process everything we have been through.”
The announcement marks the end of a high-profile, weekslong investigation after Kobayashi suddenly broke off contact with her family on Nov. 8 after missing a connecting flight from Hawaii to New York.
But last week, police announced that video footage had caught Kobayashi crossing the border into Mexico, apparently by her own free will.
Before her disappearance, Kobayashi had sent a flurry of bizarre text messages to friends and family talking about a “spiritual awakening” and being “tricked.”
In a tragic twist, Kobayashi’s father Ryan took his own life two weeks after traveling to Los Angeles to search for his daughter.
This is a developing story. Please check back for more updates.
