The mystery man who spent time with Hannah Kobayashi before she disappeared says the two talked about her personal life and her time in Hawaii.
The 30-year-old disappeared from Los Angeles International Airport after missing a connecting flight from her home in Maui to New York on November 8.
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 later caught on surveillance footage entering Tijuana on foot between Nov. 12 and 13, police said.
Before that, she was seen talking to an anonymous man at the airport before they walked through downtown LA to Union Station, where they both fell asleep.
Law enforcement revealed People that they had managed to track down the man who told them they had initially struck up a conversation after she asked how to get to the station.
The man told police that Kobayashi came across as a “free spirit,” while Detective Omar Franco told police he was “an ear to listen.”
He said, “She just talked and talked about her life in Maui, her personal life, her love life and so on. And he just listened to her.”
The man told officers they met at the LAX train stop and struck up a conversation, saying she was coherent and normal.
Investigators say Hannah ‘knowingly left the airport’ before using her passport and cash to buy a bus ticket to the US-Mexico border
The 30-year-old disappeared from Los Angeles International Airport after missing a connecting flight from her home in Maui to New York. She is seen after landing at LAX on the left and purchasing a bus ticket at Union Station on the right
He said Kobayashi told him about plans to be in New York, and also said she wanted to see the redwoods in The Golden State.
After arriving at Union Station, the two had dinner together before both going to sleep in a waiting area. Kobayashi later woke up, grabbed her belongings and left.
She bought a bus ticket and boarded shortly after before arriving at the border several hours later and walking into Tijuana.
Investigators say Hannah “knowingly left” the airport and have had her changed to “voluntarily missing” status, essentially closing the book on their investigation.
Such a move has broken her already devastated family, as they still insist that fleeing to Mexico is not characteristic of her and are now fighting among themselves.
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 earlier this week.
“The fact that she’s gone rogue and wants to break away [our effort]that’s up to her.’
Friction among her loved ones has since increased since Sydni’s comments, with her aunt announcing she would be parting ways with Sydni and her mother to find Hannah.
The family had been looking for Kobayashi since she missed her flight to New York
They have previously said that the search for Hannah is “far from over, and they will do everything they can to bring her home safely.”
Pidgeon told NewsNation on Friday that she made the decision to separate from the two after money from a GoFundMe was used for a lawyer instead of a private investigator.
She told the newspaper, “I am preparing to personally travel to Mexico to further efforts to locate her and verify that she is acting of her own free will and is truly safe.”
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.”
Police revealed that Kobayashi was seen on surveillance footage crossing the border into Tijuana and updated her status to ‘voluntarily missing’
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 was apparently defrauded of the proceeds from a green card visa program.
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 lawyer 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.”