Hannah Kobayashi “was found safe,” family reports, after police reported her as a voluntary missing person

CNN
—

Hannah Kobayashi has been “found safe,” her family said Wednesday, more than a week after police voluntarily declared her missing amid fears of a kidnapping.

“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah was found safe and sound,” said Kobayashi's sister Sydni and mother Brandi Yee. “The last month has been an unimaginable ordeal for our family and we kindly ask for privacy as we take the time to heal and process everything we have been through.”

The statement was published on X by the family's lawyer, Sara Azari. The statement did not indicate where Kobayashi was or how the family determined she was safe.

The Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement it was “glad to learn that Hannah has been found safe” and because of the new information, “this has become a private matter and we will complete our investigation.”

The family had launched a GoFundMe program that raised over $47,000 to help find Hannah. Donations have stopped and donors who want a refund can submit a request, the family said.

Hannah Kobayashi arrived at Los Angeles International Airport from Maui on November 8 but did not board her connecting flight to New York, her sister previously told CNN. According to video footage and photos, the family last heard from the 30-year-old on November 11th after spending four days in various locations in Los Angeles.

A Timeline of the Last Known Locations by Hannah Kobayashi

Video footage shows Hannah Kobayashi picking up her luggage from baggage claim at LAX on November 11 after requesting return from New York, then traveling on the LA Metro to Union Station, where she bought a ticket with her passport and cash , which took them there to the U.S.-Mexico border, police said. On November 15, she was declared a missing person.

More than three weeks after she left Maui, Los Angeles police declared her a voluntary missing person on Dec. 2. U.S. Customs and Border Protection video surveillance “clearly shows” Hannah Kobayashi crossing the U.S.-Mexico border at the San Ysidro port of entry shortly after noon on Nov. 12, police said.

“To date, the investigation has revealed no evidence that Kobayashi is being trafficked or the victim of a crime. She is also not suspected of any criminal activity,” Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a news conference. “She has a right to her privacy and we respect her decisions, but we also understand the concern her loved ones feel for her.”

Before she left Maui, investigators determined that Hannah Kobayashi had expressed a desire to separate herself from modern technology, police said.

Tragedy struck the family in the search for Hannah Kobayashi when her father, Ryan Kobayashi, who had traveled from Hawaii to Los Angeles to help search for her, was found dead near the airport on November 24 after he took his own life, family and authorities say.

Hannah Kobayashi's aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told CNN that he “died of a broken heart.”

This story has been updated with additional information.