The dad of a missing Hawaiian woman who vanished took his own life after he flew to LA to try to find her.
Ryan Kobayashi had travelled from Hawaii to LA, retracing the steps his daughter Hannah Kobayashi took earlier this month before she went missing.
On 8 November, the 31-year-old Ms Kobayashi travelled from Hawaii to LA, on her way to New York, but missed her connecting flight.
Her family initially thought she would catch another one but she told them she had begun to explore the area.
On 10 November, Ms Kobayashi was recorded at a shopping centre about 12 miles north of Los Angeles International Airport, but her family said that in the coming days, they started receiving “strange and cryptic, just alarming” text messages from her phone.
The messages referenced her being “intercepted” as she got on a train and being scared someone was trying to steal her identity.
“Once the family started pressing, she went dark,” her aunt Larie Pidgeon said.
Sky News US partner network NBC News reported that one of the texts received by Ms Kobayashi’s family read: “I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds for someone I thought I loved.”
Mr Kobayashi flew out to LA to try and find her, searching with other family members and volunteers.
However, he was found dead on Sunday in a car park near the LA International Airport having taken his own life, police and his family said.
In a statement, the family said: “After tirelessly searching throughout Los Angeles for 13 days, Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life.
“This loss has compounded the family’s suffering immeasurably.”
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They asked for privacy as they grieved and requested the public “maintain focus on the search for her. Hannah IS still actively missing and is believed to be in imminent danger. It is crucial for everyone to remain vigilant in their efforts to locate Hannah”.
Ms Kobayashi is a budding photographer from Maui and had been heading to New York for a new job and to visit relatives.
Last week The RAD Movement, a network aimed at helping missing and exploited people, said a security video from downtown Los Angeles shows Ms Kobayashi “does not appear to be in good condition and she is not alone”.
Ms Pidgeon added the search effort has been focused in the downtown area of LA.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
