Friend of woman who went missing from airport three weeks ago reveals twist in final texts as search continues
A friend of the woman who went missing from the airport three weeks ago has shared the final text messages she received.
Hannah Kobayashi, 31, is still missing after her father Ryan Kobayashi, 58, who travelled to Los Angeles to look for her, was found dead last Sunday (24 November).
His body was found at the bottom of a car park at LAX airport. Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said the manner of his death was suicide.
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Hannah was reported missing after she failed to get on her connecting flight to New York from Maui, Hawaii, at LAX Airport on 8 November.
The photographer was travelling on the same flight as her ex-boyfriend, who purchased the tickets before they broke up.
He has been cooperating with police after receiving cryptic text messages from her phone about a 'spiritual awakening'.
Hannah was last seen via CCTV at LAX airport, and her friend, Ariana Ursua, 30 told the New York Post that the text messages she received 'didn’t sound like her.'
The Hawaii-based freelancer - who met Hannah in 2017 at Whole Foods - said: "I had text messages with her and the ones on those screenshots do not feel like her.
"All the texts I have with her — they have emojis. She has a very distinct way of messaging."
Ariana noted that Hannah's texts normally end with heart and star emojis.
"I personally have always felt like I can rely on her — she’s genuinely one of the most caring people I know," the friend added.
"If it was voluntarily [that she went missing] she would have made it known. She would have made it known that she was texting.
"I don’t feel like it’s her to make people concerned. She wouldn’t just ghost out of nowhere. Usually at parties she’s the one that will make sure she says bye to her friend.
"She was literally messaging me about Burning Man 2025 next year. She was literally posting about New York in October when she was going in November. She loved dreaming and making those dreams happen."
Hannah's aunt Larie Pidgeon told USA Today: "We started getting texts saying that she didn't feel safe, that someone was trying to steal her funds, that someone was trying to take her identity.
"Weird things, calling us babe, things that weren't quite the normal way that she speaks."
One message read: "I got hacked, stripped of my identity, I can't fly."
Another: "I got tricked pretty much into giving away my funds for someone I thought I loved. I've been on the streets."
The family issued a heartbreaking statement on the 'Help Us Find Hannah' Facebook page on Monday (25 November), 'urgently pleading with the public to maintain focus on the search for her'.
Topics: US News, World News
Anish Vij