Missing Hawaii Woman Hannah Kobayashi Intentionally Missed Her Connecting Flight, Police Say, Though Her Family Disagrees

Hannah Kobayashi intentionally missed her connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York City, police say, though her family disagrees.

The missing Hawaii woman, 30, landed at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Nov. 8, when she was due to take a connecting flight to Manhattan. However, Hannah never made it onto the plane, her family told Fox affiliate KHON.

Hannah’s phone last pinned her location at LAX three days later on Nov. 11, which was also the final time anyone from her family heard from her. Hannah’s aunt, Larie Pidgeon, later wrote on Facebook on Nov. 14 that the last text messages her family received from her were “alarming.”

Speaking at a Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners meeting on Nov. 26, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said police determined Hannah had intentionally missed her flight that day.

“On Friday November 8th, 23-year-old Hannah Kobayashi missed her connecting flight from LAX to New York, which the investigation determined was intentional,” McDonnell said.

“On November 15th our missing persons unit assumed investigative responsibility. Detectives have been diligently reviewing video surveillance and employing various investigative techniques to locate Hannah, while her family has continued their personal search efforts,” he continued, adding that authorities “remain fully committed to locating Hannah.”

On Saturday, Nov. 30, in a statement shared on Facebook that was seen by PEOPLE, Hannah’s mother and sister addressed the police investigation.

Hannah’s sister said that “it does not appear that Hannah intentionally missed her flight” and claimed she and her family were “unaware of the alleged findings presented at the Los Angeles Police Commission meeting until multiple videos of the meeting were sent to us by multiple citizens.”

“These alleged findings have yet to be relayed to my mother and I directly from the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department or any detective involved in Hannah’s case,” Hannah’s sister further explained.