The family of Hannah Kobayashi confirmed they are exploring the possibility she may have been caught up in a green card marriage scam in the lead up to her disappearance.
Kobayashi, 30, was initially reported missing by her family early last month, after not boarding her connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York.
On Wednesday, sources told LA Mag she had been apparently scammed out of the proceeds of a green card visa scheme.
The outlet say that Kobayashi and her then partner landed in LAX with plans to board their connecting flight, with her legal husband and his partner also onboard.
LA Mag report that the scam was uncovered by Kobayashi’s mother who found documents listing an attorney for her daughter’s marriage, which she handed over to law enforcement.
In a statement from the family lawyer Sara Azari, she said that the family did not have ‘the facts or necessary documents’ to verify what they called the ‘alleged marriage’.
Their statement said: ‘This is one of many leads we are actively investigating with the help of our attorney and investigative team.
‘We would also like to confirm that we turned over the alleged information to law enforcement immediately upon receipt.’
On Monday, the Los Angeles Police Department revealed that she had been seen crossing the United States-Mexico border into Tijuana.
Hannah Kobayashi, 30, was declared ‘voluntary missing’ by LAPD on Monday after her family filed a missing person’s report days after she was supposed to arrive in New York on Nov. 8
She was caught on security camera footage disembarking a plane at LAX just before 10pm on November 8
Investigators claim security footage from the border near Tijuana, about 145 miles from LAX, shows her alive between November 12 and 13, about a day after she disappeared.
Footage viewed by police on Sunday ‘clearly shows 30-year-old Hannah Kobayashi’ crossing the border on foot, the LAPD said on Monday.
Authorities released new details of their investigation – citing ‘witness interviews, reviewed video surveillance’ and collaboration with local law enforcement – on what they say happened to Hannah.
Kobayashi ‘knowingly departed’ LAX after checking her bag to her connecting flight to New York from Maui and went to Union Station on November 11 and used her passport to buy a bus ticket to the border.
A photo from the surveillance footage shows her standing at a counter with her passport in hand and a suitcase by her side.
The footage showed her only days after she disappeared and about two weeks before her father, Ryan Kobayashi, took his own life at a parking garage near Los Angeles International Airport after arriving to help search for her.
The next morning, she took the bus to San Ysidro, California, before crossing the border.
The LAPD said there is no evidence of human trafficking or foul play and noted that Kobayashi seemed to want a less complicated life.
‘The investigators noted that before departing Maui, Kobayashi expressed a desire to step away from modern connectivity,’ the police department said in a statement.
Therefore, they are now classifying her disappearance as ‘voluntary’ in an attempt to respect ‘her right to privacy’.
‘The LAPD remains mindful of privacy concerns while ensuring all investigative actions are conducted within the bounds of legal and ethical standards,’ the statement added.
Hannah Kobayashi’s sister, Sydni Kobayashi, told NBC News on Tuesday that the family ‘is confused’ as to why authorities have not shared footage of Kobyashi crossing into Tijuana
Police say they will not further their investigation of Kobayashi to Mexico but will be notified if she returns to America and they encourage her to contact police or the American Embassy in Mexico to ‘confirm her well being’.
Her sister, Sydni Kobayashi, called that decision unsatisfactory for the family, who have still not seen the footage.
‘We’re just as confused and just as frustrated more than anything now,’ Sydni told NBC News in an interview on Tuesday.
Family lawyer Sara Azari questioned how police could make the determination without consulting Kobayashi’s relatives.
‘They just reached this conclusion…without showing them any footage,’ the attorney told NBC News. ‘It takes a lot more digging and investigation to be able to say it’s voluntary.’
Sources told NBC Los Angeles that they do not suspect any foul play in her disappearance at this time.
One even made a bold suggestion: ‘She’s an adult and she can choose to be missing.’
The Los Angeles PD most recently said they thought Kobayashi ‘intentionally’ missed her flight to New York City – though her family says she would never do that.
She was captured in security footage standing at the counter at Union Station with her passport in hand the day before
Kobayashi’s father Ryan, 58, joined the search after the family believed she might have been kidnapped. Ryan was found dead on November 25 after he jumped from a parking garage in Los Angeles
The 30-year-old disappeared from the streets of downtown Los Angeles after missing a connecting flight from her native Maui to the Big Apple on November 8.
She was on the flight with her ex-boyfriend, who continued on to New York and had cooperated with police while she was a missing person.
Kobayashi missed the flight to New York and security camera footage showed her abandoning the airport with her backpack only.
On November 10, she visited a book store at The Grove, a popular shopping center in Los Angeles.
Security cameras showed Kobayashi boarding a train on the LAX Metro C line at Aviation/Century Station at 9:02 pm and then transferred to a different train at the Rosa Parks Station.
Kobayashi was finally seen leaving the Metro Pico Station with an unidentified person at 10:03pm.
It was around that time that her family received a string of strange text messages from Kobayashi that seemed to suggest she was in trouble and someone had stolen her money.
She claimed she had recently undergone a ‘spiritual awakening,’ after she was due to meet family in New York.
In another, she claimed: ‘Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f— since Friday.’
A third text message to a friend said she was ‘tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds for someone I thought I love.’
The family also noted that the young artist’s phone has been off since November 11 and her last pinned location was at LAX.
‘There are a lot of suspicious or at least peculiar things about this case,’ Almonte said, referencing her texts messages and ‘spiritual awakening.’
‘It remains a mystery to me as to why she would cross into Mexico.’
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