Missing Photographer Hannah Kobayashi is ‘Found Safe’ After She ‘Vanished’ at LAX

Hannah Kobayashi

Missing photographer Hannah Kobayashi — whose disappearance drew national attention and prompted a massive search — has been “found safe” weeks after she “vanished” at LAX.

The disappearance of 30-year-old photographer Hannah Kobayashi, who lives in Maui, Hawaii, made headlines across the world.

On November 8, Kobayashi flew from Maui to Los Angeles. However, Kobayashi vanished shortly after landing, when she failed to board her connecting flight to New York where she planned to do a photography job.

Kobayashi’s subsequent disturbing text messages to her family as well as their inability to reach her alarmed them so much that they later reported her missing.

Surveillance footage shows Hannah Kobayashi arriving at Los Angeles International Airport on November 8. 

For the last month, the photographer’s disappearance has captured national attention and led to fears that she was the victim of kidnapping or human trafficking.

However, on Wednesday, Kobayashi’s family announced that the photographer had been found safe.

“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe,” Kobayashi’s mother and sister say in a statement through their lawyer.

“This past 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. We want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported us during this difficult time. Your kindness and concern have meant the world to us.”

“We are happy to learn that Hannah has been found safe,” the Los Angeles Police Department adds. “Now that we have this new information, this has become a private matter and we will wrap up our investigation.”

Other details about her disappearance, as well as where and how she was found, were not immediately available, according to AP News.

The LAPD was previously investigating Kobayashi’s case with the help of the FBI. But police stopped searching for the photographer after they learned that she had voluntarily crossed into Mexico.

The LAPD says Kobayashi walked into Mexico at the San Ysidro border crossing about 125 miles southeast of Los Angeles on November 12, the day after her family reported her missing. Cops believe Kobayashi disappeared voluntarily as she sought to “step away from modern connectivity.”

During the search for the photographer, her father Ryan Kobayashi was tragically found dead near LAX in an apparent suicide.