Los Angeles police will not release surveillance footage of once-missing Hawaiian woman Hannah Kobayashi crossing the U.S.-Mexico border due to privacy concerns.
The LAPD PIO told DailyMail.com that they would not release the tape because Kobayashi was a private citizen and had not committed a crime.
In an earlier statement from Police Chief Jim McDonnell, he said Kobayashi “is entitled to her privacy.”
“We respect her choices,” he said at a news conference Monday, “but we also understand the concern that loved ones feel for her; a simple message can reassure those she cares about.”
This came after it was revealed that Kobayashi was a ‘voluntary missing person’ and not a victim of a crime.
Investigators revealed footage from the Tijuana border that showed her alive between Nov. 12 and 13, just days after she disappeared and about 11 days before her father committed suicide.
U.S. Border Patrol security camera footage reviewed by law enforcement on Sunday “clearly shows 30-year-old Hannah Kobayashi” moving through a tunnel at the San Ysidro border crossing, the LAPD said Monday.
Authorities have released new details of their investigation – citing “witness interviews, reviewed video surveillance” and cooperation with local law enforcement – into what happened to Kobayashi.
Kobayashi “knowingly” departed LAX after checking her bag for her connecting flight to New York from Maui and went to Union Station on November 11 and used her passport to purchase a bus ticket to the border.
Hannah Kobayashi has been declared a ‘voluntarily missing person’ after her family believed she had disappeared for weeks
The LAPD reviewed footage showing Kobayashi entering Mexico on foot through a border crossing tunnel in San Ysidro (one of those border entrances is pictured above). The police do not want to release the images and have again cited their privacy rights
The next morning, she took a bus to San Ysidro, California, before crossing the border into Mexico through a tunnel.
The LAPD said there is no evidence of human trafficking or foul play and noted that Kobayashi appeared to want a less complicated life.
“Investigators noted that before leaving Maui, Kobayashi expressed a desire to distance himself from modern connectivity,” police said in a statement.
“The LAPD remains mindful of privacy concerns while ensuring that all investigative actions are conducted within the bounds of legal and ethical standards,” she added.
Authorities added that they will not continue their investigation into Kobayashi, but that they will be notified if she returns to America and they encourage her to contact police or the U.S. Embassy in Mexico to “recover her to confirm well-being’.
According to Kobayashi’s family, she flew from her home in Maui on November 8 and was expected to arrive in New York City the next day.
She was accompanied on the flight by her ex-boyfriend, who traveled to New York and had been cooperating with police while she was missing.
Kobayashi missed the flight to New York and security camera footage captured her leaving the airport carrying only a backpack.
At a news conference Monday, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell urged Kobayashi to contact her family to “reassure them.”
Kobayashi was seen at Los Angeles International Airport on November 8, but she never boarded a connecting flight to New York
The next afternoon, she entered an art bookstore in LA’s popular The Grove shopping center, ten miles away.
On November 10, she was captured on video outside a Nike event near the mall and reportedly returned to LAX, according to a family statement.
The next day, November 11, Kobayashi was seen boarding a LAX Metro C line at Aviation/Century Station.
She boarded at 9:02 p.m., before transferring to another train at Rosa Parks Station.
Kobayashi was eventually seen leaving the Pico subway station with an unidentified person at 10:03 p.m.
Around this time, family members had received a series of strange text messages from Kobayashi that seemed to suggest that she was in trouble and that someone had stolen her money.
In the messages, she claimed she had recently undergone a “spiritual awakening” after meeting family in New York.
In another, she claimed: ‘Deep Hackers erased my identity, stole all my money and have had me on their minds since Friday.’
A third text message to a friend said she had “pretty much been tricked into giving away all my money to someone I thought I loved.”
Police believe Kobayashi longed for a simpler life and therefore disappeared to Mexico. Therefore, the LAPD suspended their investigation in Mexico. However, if she returns to the US, police will be notified
Kobayashi’s father Ryan, 58, joined the search after the family believed she may have been kidnapped. After searching for her for thirteen days, Ryan was found dead on November 25 after jumping from a Los Angeles parking garage.
The family also noted that the young artist’s phone has been turned off since November 11 and that her last pinned location was the Los Angeles airport.
On November 12, she was spotted at the Greyhound bus terminal at Union Station in downtown LA around 6:30 am.
According to police, she crossed the border into Mexico a few hours later.
Kobayashi’s father Ryan, 58, joined the search after the family believed she may have been kidnapped.
After searching for her for thirteen days, Ryan was found dead on November 25 after jumping from a Los Angeles parking garage.
Before his death, Ryan told DailyMail.com: ‘We will do everything we can until we find her. We just need to get the word out about her. She is an amazing person who brings joy to so many people.”
He also admitted that he was estranged from her for “a while.”
“I am deeply sorry to the family for everything they have been through,” Police Chief McDonnell said during Monday’s news conference.
Although Kobayashi’s loved ones now know she is alive and left voluntarily, they are not out of the woods yet.
Her family has closed the Facebook page dedicated to her search efforts, claiming they have received death threats.
The Help Us Find Hannah page was removed from the social media site on Sunday, and Kobayashi’s sister, Sydni, and her mother, Brandi Yee, said they reported the threats to the FBI.
There are also questions about the GoFundMe the family has set up now that Kobayashi is determined not to become a victim of foul play.
Many donors to the fundraiser, which raised more than $47,000, are demanding refunds.
The fundraiser was set up on November 15 with a goal of $50,000. As of Tuesday, it was 94 percent of the way there.
According to the GoFundMe, the money would be used for food and hydration for search teams, transportation, communications equipment and technology, a media campaign, “temporary housing for essential personnel,” and on-site support for the family.
On November 26, the family updated the fundraiser to add funeral expenses for Kobayashi’s father to the scope.
A GoFundMe spokesperson confirmed that the fundraiser remains within its terms of service at this time.