Dad of Missing Hawaii Woman Found Dead Amid Search

Ryan Kobayashi, 58, had flown to Los Angeles to help find daughter Hannah
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 25, 2024 10:49 AM CST
Dad of Missing Hawaii Woman Found Dead Amid Search
Hannah Kobayashi.   (LAPD)

Loved ones searching for a 30-year-old Hawaii woman who went missing in Los Angeles now have a second trauma: the death of her father amid the search. Ryan Kobayashi, 58, was found in a parking area near LAX airport early Sunday, reports KTLA. Police say he appears to have taken his own life by jumping from a parking structure, per NBC Los Angeles. Kobayashi had flown to Los Angeles from Hawaii after daughter Hannah went missing earlier this month. She had flown into LAX on Nov. 8 but missed her connecting flight to New York City and spent some time sightseeing while trying to get another flight.

The family last heard from her on Nov. 11 in a series of troubling texts in which she wrote about being fearful someone was trying to steal her identity. Video showed her getting on a train that day with an unidentified person, and there has been no news since. "The Kobayashi family endured a devastating tragedy (Sunday)," wrote the RAD Movement, a nonprofit assisting in the search for Hannah Kobayashi. "After tirelessly searching throughout Los Angeles for 13 days, Hannah's father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life. This loss has compounded the family's suffering immeasurably." If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. (More missing person stories.)

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