Hannah Kobayashi's family demands to see video of her crossing into Mexico
Published in News & Features
The family of missing Hawaii woman Hannah Kobayashi is demanding to see surveillance video of that purportedly shows her crossing into Mexico after the Los Angeles police declared her a voluntarily missing person.
“Now that she’s there, it feels like [the LAPD] are kind of washing their hands clean of the situation,” Sydni Kobayashi, Hannah’s sister, told NBC Los Angeles.
“For them to tell us that they have been keeping us informed throughout the entire time, that’s absolutely inaccurate.”
Kobayashi disappeared at LAX on Nov. 8 after flying from Maui and missing a connecting flight to New York. After receiving cryptic text messages, the family lost contact with her.
According to police, she retrieved her luggage from the Los Angeles airport a few days later before taking a bus to the border and crossing into Mexico near Tijuana on Nov. 12.
The LAPD said there is no evidence of a crime and don’t intend to take their investigation south. The department announced Monday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s surveillance video showed her entering Mexico on foot, unharmed, with her luggage.
The family is also upset her disappearance was classified as a voluntary missing persons case and has asked for the videos to be publicly released.
They also said they’ve hired a private investigator, believe she is still in danger and will not stop searching for her.
“Our family remains hopeful that Hannah is safe and urges everyone to continue the search,” the family said in a statement released by their attorney. “The search is far from over, and we are committed to doing everything possible to bring her home safely.”
“This search is not over,” Hannah’s aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told ABC 7 Los Angeles. “Knowing Hannah crossed the border does not provide the answers I need, nor does it ease the heartbreak I feel.”
Ryan Kobayashi, the missing woman’s father, was found dead by suicide in a parking lot at LAX last month.
Kobayashi has been described as a 5-foot-10 woman weighing about 140 pounds. She has brown hair and eyes, and fair skin with freckles.
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