Hannah Kobayashi hadn't seen her father—but after her disappearance, he spent his final days searching for her before taking his own life at Los Angeles Airport.
Ryan Kobayashi, 58, jumped to his death from a parking garage at LAX around 4 a.m. on Sunday, ending a heartbreaking 13-day effort to find his missing daughter who may have fallen victim to sex trafficking.
The 30-year-old from Maui was last heard from on November 11, three days after missing a connecting flight en route to New York City.
Despite their estranged relationship, Ryan flew to California to assist in the search, distributing "Find Hannah" flyers and pleading for public help. "I wasn't too close with her ... growing up", he revealed to CNN. "We hadn't had contact for a while. I'm just trying to make up. I'm trying to get her back. That's my main focus."
Hannah's aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told DailyMail.com that Ryan's dedication never wavered. "They didn't have the best relationship, and he wasn't there for her growing up, but in the end, he was there for her when it mattered. He came here when it mattered."
After missing her connecting flight at LAX on November 8, she was seen at a shopping mall and later attended a Nike event featuring LeBron James. Her final sighting came on November 11 when security cameras captured her boarding an LAX Metro C line train.
Disturbing text messages sent from Hannah's phone before she vanished have added to her family's concerns. Messages referenced a "spiritual awakening," identity theft, and a sense of danger. Her sister, Sydni Kobayashi, stated the texts didn't sound like Hannah, saying, "None of the texts are getting delivered. We can't locate her phone."
Before her disappearance, Hannah was traveling with her ex-boyfriend, who booked their tickets before they broke up. While the two didn't interact during the flight, he continued to New York and is cooperating with police.
Hannah's family remains desperate for answers as they try to piece together her movements. Her mother, Brandi Yee, shared that Hannah sent cryptic messages through Venmo to unfamiliar recipients and texted family saying she didn't feel safe. One text simply read, "Not yet," when asked if she had reached New York.
Hannah was last seen at LAX, but never boarded a flight. She was caught on camera near the Pico Metro station with an unidentified person.
"We believe that she just trusted the wrong person," Pidgeon told USA Today.
"The family of Hannah Kobayashi is urgently pleading with the public to maintain focus on the search for her. Hannah IS still actively missing and is believed to be in imminent danger. It is crucial for everyone to remain vigilant in their efforts to locate Hannah," the RAD Movement, a nonprofit that works with missing and exploited individuals and their families, said in a statement.
"What the family needs most in this difficult time is for all communities to rally around them with support, compassion, and prayers," the RAD Movement, who believes Hannah may be at risk for sex trafficking, continued.
