Hannah Kobayashi’s sister blasts her aunt for ‘going rouge’ as family members of ‘missing’ Hawaii woman turn on each other amid controversial detail

Hannah Kobayashi’s family is turning on each other amid a power struggle over what to do after Los Angeles police declared the Maui woman “voluntarily missing.”

The 30-year-old aspiring photographer disappeared from Los Angeles International Airport after missing a connecting flight from her home in Maui to New York on November 8.

A GoFundMe was set up to help find her, but the $47,000 raised so far has become a controversial detail as they debate how to use it and who should be the face of the family trying to locate her .

Investigators say Hannah “knowingly left the airport,” before using her passport and cash to buy a bus ticket to the US-Mexico border.

She was even caught on surveillance footage entering Tijuana on foot between Nov. 12 and 13, police said Monday as they announced they would not continue their search into Mexico.

Yet Kobayashi’s family continues to insist that her escape to Mexico is uncharacteristic of her and they fight to keep her story in the news.

One of their problems is that family members have different opinions about who should speak on behalf of the family. Hannah’s sister, Sydni, contacted her aunt, Larie Pidgeon, about her comments to the press.

“It’s a real shame when you have to question family,” she says told NewsNation. “The fact that she’s gone rogue and wants to break away [our effort]that’s up to her.’

“I will do what I can at this time to protect our family and do everything I can to find my sister,” Sydni continued.

“And I don’t want to have any connection with the confusion I think she’s caused since this thing started with my sister.”

Family attorney Sara Azari added that it is important to note that Hannah’s family consists of Sydni, “her mother and her uncle and that side,” and not Pidgeon.

It is unclear what exactly Pidgeon said that the other family members disagreed with.

But the worried aunt is now hitting back, tells the New York Post that her niece ‘throws her under the bus’ because she wants to be in the spotlight.

“They want to be the face,” Pidgeon said of her extended family. “They want to be the whole thing… It’s really sad.”

She went on to say that she agrees that the LAPD’s statement that Kobayashi “voluntarily” left the airport and went to Mexico is likely true, but said she also plans to travel to Mexico to continue the search for her niece.

Meanwhile, there are also disagreements within the family over what to do with the nearly $50,000 they raised online for her search and Hannah and Sydni’s father’s funeral costs after he committed suicide.

Many online have suggested that the family refund everyone who donated to GoFundMe.

“Y’all, I can’t believe Hannah Kobayashi crossed over[ed] Crossed the border into Mexico a week and a half ago and family officials didn’t tell anyone,” someone wrote on X.

“They just kept the GoFundMe running and had volunteers spend thousands of hours looking for her.”

“Give the money back to the people who donated to this fundraiser,” another added. ‘The police have already declared her voluntarily missing. The organizers have withheld information from donors.”

‘Agreed, the resources now have to go elsewhere. I wonder if the GoFundMe is still active…” one person wrote.

According to the GoFundMe, the money will 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.

A spokesperson for the fundraising website confirmed that it remains within its terms of service at this time, and Pidgeon told the Post that she didn’t think the family was trying to scam the public and instead really wanted to get Hannah home safely.

The family has previously said that the search for Hannah is “far from over, and they will do everything they can to bring her home safely.”

“We are extremely grateful for the urgency and dedication shown by police in investigating Hannah’s disappearance,” they said in a statement. shared online by NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin.

“Our family remains hopeful that Hannah is safe and urges everyone to continue the search.

“We want answers and a solution that will ensure Hannah’s safety and urge law enforcement and the public to remain focused on finding her and avoid speculative conclusions.

“Spreading awareness and sharing verified information about her case is critical, and we appreciate your continued support in these efforts.”

The family have repeatedly raised concerns that Hannah may be in danger, with Sydni saying that even if she had decided to go off-grid, she would have reached out after her father committed suicide during the searches.

“With my father’s passing, because it was everywhere and in her right state of mind, she never thought about reaching out to anyone,” she says. told Hawaii News Now.

They also claimed that they 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.”

Kobayashi had also sent some unusual Venmo payments after her disappearance.

One payment was sent to an individual named Veronica Almendarez for an undisclosed amount on November 9 at 6:25 PM, with the description of the payment only containing a drawn bow and arrow emoji.

The second was transferred less than an hour later to someone named Jonathan Taylor, also for an undisclosed amount, with the description only: “Reading.”

Family members said they did not recognize either name and noted that Kobayashi’s phone has been turned off since Nov. 11, with the last pinned location being Los Angeles International Airport.

Sources have since claimed to Los Angeles Magazine that Kobayashi had apparently been defrauded of the proceeds from a green card visa program.

The outlet said Kobayashi and her then-partner landed at LAX with plans to board their connecting flight, with her legal husband and his partner also on board.

LA Mag reports that the scam was discovered by Kobayashi’s mother, who found documents listing a lawyer for her daughter’s wedding, which she handed over to police.

In a statement from family attorney Sara Azari, she said the family did not have “the facts or necessary documents” to verify what they called the “alleged marriage.”

Their statement said: “This is one of many leads that we are actively investigating with the assistance of our attorney and investigative team.

“We would also like to confirm that we transferred the alleged information to the police immediately upon receipt.”

The FBI is now investigating the claims.