The distraught father of missing Hannah Kobayashi said his daughter “brought so much joy” just two days before he killed himself.
Ryan Kobayashi, 58, was found dead after jumping from a Los Angeles parking garage following the disappearance of his daughter after she missed a connecting flight from her native Maui, Hawaii, on Nov. 8 en route to New York City.
Kobayashi had traveled to California to help in the search for his aspiring photographer daughter, 31, where he handed out missing persons flyers to passersby for 13 days.
Speaking to DailyMail.com on Thursday, he said: ‘We will do everything we can until we find her. We just need to get the word out about her.
“She is an amazing person who brings joy to so many people.”
His efforts to locate missing Hannah continued as he assisted authorities in their investigations, but in a heartbreaking tragedy for the Kobayashi family, he was found dead at the bottom of a LAX airport parking garage around 4 a.m. on Sunday.
Hannah disappeared after sending a series of chilling text messages to her loved ones, claiming she had recently undergone a “spiritual awakening” after planning to meet family in New York.
She had taken a flight from Hawaii to LAX on the same plane as her ex-boyfriend, who had booked the tickets for each of them before they broke up. But according to reports, the duo did not sit together or speak during the flight.
Hannah Kobayashi (pictured) went missing after missing her connecting flight to New York
Her father, Ryan, was tragically found dead in Los Angeles on November 8 after flying out to assist in the search
Speaking to DailyMail.com on Thursday alongside Hannah’s aunts, Kobayashi said: ‘We will do everything we can until we find her. We just need to get the word out about her.
The last known image of Hannah shows her outside a Nike event in Los Angeles
The friend continued the trip to New York and reportedly “cooperated with law enforcement” after the bizarre final text message sent from Hannah’s phone about the spiritual awakening.
The family filed a missing person’s report with the Los Angeles Police Department, but have since expressed their frustrations with the investigation.
“As of today, police have contacted family members who last spoke to Hannah,” her aunt Larie Pidgeon also told DailyMail.com on Thursday.
‘We want them to take it a little more seriously.
“We think they realize we’re not going away and that we’re going to be very loud. We’re going to do something until they do something.
“I think they are now starting the process of what we started six days ago.
‘The whole world is looking for you (Hannah) because you are that special.
‘We won’t stop until we find you. We love you.’
The 31-year-old was spotted on security camera footage getting off the plane just before 10 p.m. on November 8, and was later seen wearing a black hoodie and multi-colored sweatpants as she walked through LAX wearing headphones.
Hannah’s original plan was to board a connecting flight to New York at 11 p.m., but that never worked out.
Instead, she was seen at The Grove shopping center the following day, on November 9, between 12pm and 3pm.
The missing woman spent part of it at Taschen Books, charging her phone before sending an image to her aunt at 2:43 p.m.
Kobayashi said his daughter “brought so much joy” before he took his own life
‘Please help her, if you can. If you know where she is, or if you have a chance to help her, please. We just want to get her home,” Hannah’s mother said
Her family received strange text messages from her phone number, leading them to believe they were not sent by Hannah
This is the last known image of Hannah leaving LAX after missing her connecting flight to New York to visit family
Her last post was shared on November 11. It is believed she was attending an event in Los Angeles at the time
Hannah then reportedly spent the night at the airport, where she called her aunt to tell her she was still trying to reach New York.
But in a separate YouTube video taken outside a Nike event with LeBron James in Los Angeles on November 10, Hannah can be seen wearing the same clothes and headphones.
She also shared a post on her Instagram from the event with an eye emoji as the caption.
The next time Hannah was seen was around 5pm the same day, talking to a ticket agent at LAX.
Her family subsequently filed a missing persons report during what they described as unusual correspondence from Kobayashi.
One of her text messages read: “Deep Hackers erased my identity, stole all my money and have been messing me up since Friday.”
Her mother, Brandi Yee, also texted her asking if she had made it to New York.
She simply replied, “Not yet.” Another early morning text mentioned that she was in the midst of a “spiritual awakening.”
On a missing persons poster sent out immediately afterwards, police wrote: “Before he went missing, (Kobayashi) sent a message on November 10 mentioning that he felt scared and that someone might try to take her money and steal identity. She hasn’t been heard from since.’
The next day, November 11, Hannah was seen boarding a LAX Metro C line at Aviation/Century Station.
She boarded at 9:02 p.m., before transferring to another train at Rosa Parks Station.
Hannah was finally seen leaving the Pico metro station with the unknown person at 10:03 p.m.
While Yee and Hannah’s sister Sydni Kobayashi believe Hannah left the airport to attend the event based on a series of text messages suggesting she “spiritually awakened and headed back to the airport,” a friend believes differently.
The anonymous friend revealed she was receiving strange texts from Hannah’s phone indicating she might be in trouble.
‘I was so deceived that I gave away all my money. For someone I thought I loved,” the messages read.
The family also noted that the young artist’s phone has been turned off since November 11 and that her last pinned location was the Los Angeles airport.
“She heard it from Hannah. She was at LAX and said she was scared,” Yee said.
Sydni further added, “She texted her saying she was scared and she couldn’t come home or something. They were just really weird text messages.”
One of Hannah’s friends received strange text messages from Kobayashi’s phone, saying she might be in trouble
The sister of missing Hawaiian woman Hannah Kobayashi has shared details of every last known sighting as her family continues their painful search
Hannah Kobayashi (pictured) went missing after missing her connecting flight from LAX to New York on November 8
Both Hannah’s mother and sister also believe the messages “didn’t sound like her” and question whether it was Hannah who sent them.
“None of the texts are delivered. We can’t find her phone.’
As the search for Hannah continues following the tragic death of her father, the Kobayashi family said in a statement: “The Kobayashi family endured a devastating tragedy today.
“After thirteen days of tirelessly searching throughout Los Angeles, Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life. This loss has immeasurably increased the family’s suffering.
“What the family needs most at this difficult time is for all communities to rally around them with support, compassion and prayers. Please be considerate with your comments and messages.
“The trauma they endure is profound, and they now face the added burden of grieving the loss of their family’s mainstay and navigating the next steps.”