Hannah Kobayashi, 30, a Hawaii woman who was reported missing by her family after she flew from Maui to Los Angeles but did not board a connecting flight to New York, has been “found safe,” her family said in a statement on Wednesday. Read more:

Hannah Kobayashi Is ‘Found Safe,’ Weeks After She Was Reported Missing
The search drew national attention after she flew from Maui to Los Angeles and did not board a connecting flight to New York last month. Her family said Wednesday that she had been found safe.

A Hawaii woman who was reported missing by her family last month has been “found safe,” her family said in a statement on Wednesday, less than two weeks after the authorities said she had traveled alone into Mexico.

The search for the woman, Hannah Kobayashi, 30, had drawn national attention and led to rampant speculation on social media after she flew from Maui to Los Angeles on Nov. 8 but did not board her connecting flight to New York. The Los Angeles Police were searching for Ms. Kobayashi but ended their search after they said they had learned that she had crossed into Mexico.

“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe,” Ms. Kobayashi’s family said the statement, which their lawyer, Sara Azari, posted on X on Wednesday. “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.”

The statement did not say where Ms. Kobayashi was found or offer any further details.

During its investigation, the Los Angeles Police said that there was no evidence of any crime or foul play in Ms. Kobayashi’s disappearance and that they were classifying her as a “voluntary missing person.”

The Los Angeles Police Department did not immediately respond to an email on Wednesday seeking a comment about Ms. Kobayashi being found safe.

Here is what to know about the search for Ms. Kobayashi.

She did not board a connecting flight to New York.
Ms. Kobayashi flew from Maui to Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 8 and decided for unknown reasons not to board her connecting flight to Kennedy International Airport in New York, the police said.

Before she left Maui, Ms. Kobayashi had expressed a desire to “step away from modern connectivity,” Jim McDonnell, the Los Angeles police chief, said at a news conference. Her social media posts suggested she had wanted to “disconnect from her phone,” Lt. Douglas Oldfield of the Los Angeles Police said at the news conference.

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Ms. Kobayashi left the Los Angeles airport without her phone, the police said. From Nov. 8 to Nov. 11, she was seen at “various locations” in Los Angeles, the police said — among them a bookstore and a Nike store at the Grove, an upscale shopping center, her family said.

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Her family said she sent disturbing text messages.
An aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told KTLA-TV that Ms. Kobayashi had sent alarming text messages before she stopped contacting her family.
“She mentioned feeling scared, and that someone might be trying to steal her money and identity,” Ms. Pidgeon said. “Strange, cryptic messages — things about the matrix, it was so unlike her. And then all of a sudden, no more communication.”

On Nov. 15, the Los Angeles Police released a missing person flier asking for information about Ms. Kobayashi. Family members, including her father, Ryan Kobayashi, joined the search for her in Los Angeles.

On Nov. 24, Mr. Kobayashi’s body was found near Los Angeles International Airport, the police said, adding that no foul play was suspected. NBC Los Angeles, citing the police, said he had jumped from a parking structure. Ms. Pidgeon told People that she believed Mr. Kobayashi’s mental health had deteriorated as he searched for his daughter.

“I think it just became so overwhelming for him driving the streets, going to Skid Row and seeing where his daughter could possibly have ended up,” she said.

She walked alone into Mexico on Nov. 12.
At the news conference on Dec. 2, the police said that they had used witness interviews and surveillance video to piece together some of Ms. Kobayashi’s movements in Los Angeles and had determined that she had gone to Mexico.
Although she had checked a bag through to New York, she requested that it be sent back to her at the Los Angeles airport, where surveillance video showed her picking it up from a baggage carousel on Nov. 11, the police said.

Ms. Kobayashi then took public transportation to Union Station in Los Angeles, traveling with a man she had met at the airport. The police have not identified the man, but said he had been interviewed by investigators, with his lawyer present. The police said investigators were able to corroborate his account.

At Union Station, Ms. Kobayashi used her passport and cash to buy a bus ticket to the San Ysidro border crossing in San Diego, the police said. Video footage from U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed her walking alone across the border into Mexico on Nov. 12, the police said.

“To date, the investigation has not uncovered any evidence that Kobayashi is being trafficked or is the victim of foul play,” Chief McDonnell said. “She is also not a suspect in any criminal activity.”

The police urged her to contact her family.
Chief McDonnell said the police would not search for her in Mexico but were asking anyone with information about her whereabouts to contact law enforcement. He said that law enforcement would be notified if Ms. Kobayashi returned to the United States. He urged Ms. Kobayashi to contact her family or the authorities.
“She has a right to privacy and we respect her choices, but we also understand the concern her loved ones feel for her,” Chief McDonnell said. “A simple message could reassure those who care about her.”

Ms. Kobayashi’s sister, Sydni Kobayashi, told NBC News that the family was “very shocked” and “frustrated” to learn that she had traveled to Mexico.

“She’s gone to different places, but she’s always checked in,” Sydni Kobayashi said. “She always lets us know what’s going on.”