Hannah Kobayashi’s family has told GoFundMe donors they would provide refunds after she was found safe.
The 31-year-old Hawaii woman contacted family members on Wednesday to tell them she was doing well after disappearing from Los Angeles International Airport in November.
In an effort to support their search, her family had launched an online fundraiser that raised more than $47,000.
A post on the fundraiser has since stated that the family would be ceasing donations and that they would honor all claims made for reimbursement.
They said: ‘We are closing donations, and any donor who wants a refund can submit a claim before December 18 and it will be honored.’
In a statement on Wednesday, her family said they were “incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe.”
She disappeared from LAX on November 8 while traveling from her home in Hawaii to New York City.
Her father traveled to Los Angeles shortly after she disappeared to assist in the search, eventually committing suicide over her disappearance.
DailyMail.com revealed that she had been on the run with her new Green Card husband, Argentinian Alan Cacace, in an attempt to make immigration officials believe their marriage was real.
The 31-year-old Hawaii woman contacted family members on Wednesday to tell them she was doing well after disappearing from Los Angeles International Airport in November.
A post on the fundraiser has since stated that the family would be ceasing donations and that they would honor all claims made for reimbursement
Hannah Kobayashi’s family, including her late father Ryan, are seen here in downtown Los Angeles in November after she disappeared
Her ex-boyfriend Amun Miranda joined them on the same flight with his own Green Card wife Marianne – who happened to be Cacace’s girlfriend.
The love square was only possible after Cacace allegedly gave her $15,000 with the promise of another lump sum after the proper immigration documents were issued.
Kobayashi and ex-boyfriend Miranda seen at a Christmas party in 2023
The ruse of their marriage of convenience was already in the works after they tied the knot in October.
Cacace believed that photos of him while Kobayashi toured the Big Apple would be enough to convince officials that their marriage was real.
Photos of the ceremony were shown to Kobayashi’s coworkers at Up ‘N Smoke, the Maui smoke shop where she worked.
“There was no secret,” Desiree, a colleague, told DailyMail.com. “She told us about her plans.”
“The Argentinian couple wanted to go on a last-minute trip because it provided an opportunity to take photos of their ‘romantic vacation,'” Desiree explains.
Kobayashi’s colleagues said she had mixed feelings about going on the trip — both excited about checking off a location on her bucket list where she could see family members, but also frustrated that she would have to share her flight with ex-boyfriend Miranda.
Her colleagues also revealed that her cash cows in the form of Cacace and his girlfriend were also a point of contention for the previously missing woman, who did not want any of them to come along on this trip.
Kobayashi was captured on camera at LAX airport for three days before her family reported her missing when they received cryptic text messages
Kobayashi reportedly told them that she did not want to waste time taking photos, but would reluctantly sacrifice a day of her weekly planned vacation to accommodate their wishes.
And then there was Marianne, who Kobayashi recently had a fight with, which revolved around her jealousy over marrying her boyfriend Cacace.
“I remember Hannah saying the friend had a problem with her,” Desiree said.
“And Hannah was like a girl, I’m not trying to steal your man. This is an arrangement we have all talked about beforehand.”
When Kobayashi’s family reported her missing after receiving cryptic text messages, her colleagues decided to dig because they knew the backstory of what happened during the trip to New York City.
Desiree, who had known Miranda since high school, texted him to say they were actively looking for his ex. She even asked the name of the Argentinian couple and whether they had reached New York.
“It all seems very suspenseful and you should have told her family she didn’t get on the flight,” Desiree Miranda texted. “Actually, you should have gotten off that flight when you realized she wasn’t on it… Please explain.”
Miranda shot back at the questioning co-worker and said it wasn’t his job to take care of her. “She’s an adult and I heard she might have plans in Cali too,” he texted.
Ryan Kobayashi holds a photo of his missing daughter Hannah outside the Crypto.com Arena with her aunt Larie Pidgeon
Kobayashi’s ex-boyfriend also vehemently defended her Green Card husband Cacace.
Miranda is a carpenter who, until their split, lived with Kobayashi in a small house along a dirt road perched on a lush hill that slopes down to the ocean.
They started I’m planning a trip to New York early this yearbuying tickets for what was initially planned as a vacation for the two of them.
But that plan would extend to their Green Card scam – hooking up with the couple from Argentina who had come to Maui’s north shore for the beach life and better-paying jobs.
DailyMail.com was unable to reach the Argentinian couple, while Miranda did not respond to messages left with his mother.
Locals say he is back in town but is keeping a low profile to avoid attention in the wake of the disappearance.
Before she reappeared, Kobayashi was caught on surveillance footage crossing the border into Tijuana on foot on Nov. 12 or 13, police said.
Investigators later stated that Kobayashi had “knowingly left the airport” and changed her status to “voluntarily missing,” effectively closing the book on their investigation.
Before she reappeared, Kobayashi was caught on surveillance footage crossing the border into Tijuana on foot on Nov. 12 or 13, police said.
Her family disputed this decision and shared their concerns that Hannah may be in danger, claiming that they had received a series of strange text messages from Kobayashi.
One seemed to allude to the scam, with Kobayashi texting a friend early on: “I was tricked into giving away all my money. From someone I thought I loved.”
As of this week, signs still hang at the entrance to Up ‘N Smoke, with Kobayashi’s photo stating that she is missing.
“I’ve been racking my brain all day, every day, for the past month,” Desiree told DailyMail.com, just days before Kobayashi contacted the family and declared her safe.
“Something scared her so much that she ditched her trip and went to crazy Mexico. I don’t understand why she would have to miss her bucket list trip.”
She and the Kobayashi family now hope they can now get those answers personally from Kobayashi.