Family of missing Maui woman holds rally in downtown LA to help with search
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The family of Hannah Kobayashi held a rally Thursday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles as they try to bring more attention to the missing Maui woman.
The rally was held outside Crypto.com Arena, just a few hours before the Lakers game.
Hannah Kobayashi, 30, was seen in surveillance video around a downtown Metro train station with an unknown person on Nov. 11, her family said.
After a series of suspicious texts from her phone, Kobayashi has gone silent - and her family now fears she may have been abducted.
"She is loved and I can't stress this enough to the public, we wouldn't be doing this if this was just a young woman who would 'leave on her own accord' if she was just exploring and 'wanted her family to leave her alone' ... because we keep hearing that and we know that's not the case," said Kobayashi's aunt Larie Pidgeon.
The FBI is assisting the LAPD in the investigation.
Kobayashi was traveling from Maui, Hawaii, to New York and had a connecting flight at Los Angeles International Airport, her sister, Sydni Kobayashi, told CNN on Monday. She had the same itinerary as an ex-boyfriend and the pair decided to keep their flights since they couldn't get a refund but would be going their separate ways once they landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Kobayashi was going to spend time in upstate New York with her aunt, her sister said. But Nov. 11 was the last day anyone heard from her.
Text messages from Kobayashi in the lead-up to her disappearance did not sound like her. She used words like "hun," "love" and "babe," her sister said.
"I personally don't think that was my sister," Sydni Kobayashi said. "She doesn't use the word 'hun.' 'Love' and 'babe,' but never 'hun.' Even her close friends have said the same."
The timeline
On Friday, Nov. 8, Kobayashi took a flight from Maui to Los Angeles. CNN has obtained a photo that appears to show her getting off the flight at LAX. She did not board her scheduled flight to New York that night, her sister told CNN. Her ex-boyfriend, however, took that connecting flight.
The next day, Kobayashi was spotted at a Taschen bookstore at The Grove, her sister said, and her family doesn't know why. She then sent a Venmo payment to two people whose names the family does not recognize, Sydni Kobayashi said.
A video was posted on YouTube on Sunday, Nov. 10, showing Kobayashi at the LeBron XXII Trial Experience, an event held at the Nike store in the same shopping center. A photo of the event was also posted on her Instagram account, her sister said.
On November 11 - the last day anyone heard from the missing woman - her mother texted her, asking whether she made it to New York. Kobayashi responded no, her sister said. She also sent messages to a friend saying she didn't feel safe, and that someone was trying to steal her identity and funds, according to screenshots her sister sent to CNN.
"Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f**k since Friday," one message to a friend said.
Another message said, "I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds," followed by one saying, "For someone I thought I loved."
On Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department missing persons unit made a poster about Kobayashi's disappearance, saying she was last seen at the airport. It said she has freckles on her face and a tattoo on her forearm.
On Sunday, in a statement posted to Facebook, Sydni Kobayashi said the family had obtained surveillance footage showing her sister around the downtown Metro train station near Crypto.com Arena, although it was unclear exactly when that footage was taken.
In the footage, Kobayashi is not alone and "does not appear to be in good condition," the family wrote on Facebook, saying they are unable to share further details.
Pidgeon had message for her niece or anyone who may be with her.
"Hannah, we love you. We are all here. Your mom's here, your sister's here, your father's here. The entire world is looking for you," she said.
"If someone has Hannah, I want you to know that she is the kindest, most beautiful soul in the entire world. And please don't hurt her."
"Please just give us back to her. No questions asked. Just don't hurt her. Please."
CNN contributed to this report.
