Woman Missed Flight and Sent Cryptic Texts. Over a Week Later, She’s Still Missing and Her Family Is 'Terrified'
Hannah Kobayashi's aunt says the family fears she's been abducted or trafficked, while police say the investigation is ongoing and they have no updates to share
It’s been over a week since Hannah Kobayashi's loved ones have heard from her after she missed her connecting flight at LAX and disappeared.
“We are terrified,” her 45-year-old aunt, Larie Pidgeon, tells PEOPLE. “We’re really afraid.”
Pidgeon, one of 13 family members who traveled to Los Angeles to track down leads to find Hannah, says amid their ongoing search, the family plans to hold a rally on Thursday, Nov. 21 around 3:30 p.m. local time at the Cyrpto.com Arena to hand out flyers before the Lakers game and canvas the area.
“We have to get her face into as many people's hands as we can,” says Pidgeon, a travel photographer who is acting as family spokesperson. “We're fighting desperately, and that's why we're talking to as many people as we can. We're trying to remain hopeful.”
Related: Missing Woman Seen on Video with Stranger After She Didn’t Get on Connecting Flight, Family Says
Kobayashi, 30, was traveling from her home in Maui to New York City with a layover in Los Angeles. Her aunt says she had landed a dream gig photographing a D.J. and had made a meticulous, hour-by-hour detailed schedule. "She was so excited," Pidgeon tells PEOPLE.
On Friday, November 8, she flew from Maui to LAX, but because of her tight 35-minute layover, she couldn’t make her connecting flight to JFK, according to Pidgeon.
The last person Hannah spoke to was Pidgeon's sister, Geordan Montalvo, whom Hannah planned to visit during the trip.
Pidgeon says Hannah called from LAX and told Montalvo she missed her flight, and was trying to rebook it, telling her, "I'll meet you there."
According to Hannah's family, she went to a bookstore at The Grove, a local mall, around noon on Saturday, Nov. 9. There she charged her phone and signed up for the mailing list as well as the store’s book club.
That evening, she went back to LAX and called Montalvo to tell her she was still trying to get on a flight to New York. "She was like, '‘This is a nightmare. I don’t understand what’s going on with these airlines, I’m trying to get to you,' ” Pidgeon says.
The family has confirmed sightings of Hannah at LAX the next day, too — and they also saw footage of her passing by a LeBron James event that day, which she posted about on Instagram as well.
Related: Woman Missing After Not Getting on Connecting Flight Sent 'Alarming' Text Messages, Says Family
That evening, she went back to the airport and called Montalvo to tell her she was still coming to New York, Pidgeon says.
But on Monday, Nov. 11, her family members started getting text messages from Hannah saying, “I think someone’s trying to steal my identity. I’m really scared,” according to Pidgeon.
The text messages were cryptic and didn’t sound at all like Hannah, according to her aunt. "Hannah speaks in emojis,” Pidgeon says. Usually there’s a heart or flower or a fairy. “That’s how she speaks,” she adds. “And these messages didn't have a single emoji.”
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Pidgeon claims that messages were ignored when family members responded, “Hannah are you okay?"
“Then her phone went dead and then it died,” she says.
The last place her phone pinged was at 4 p.m. on Nov. 11 at LAX, Pidgeon says.
A ticketing agent told the family that they spoke to Hannah that day and that she was discussing buying a new ticket either back to Maui or to New York.
That same day, the family got a confirmed sighting of Hannah and an unidentified person getting on the train, according to Pidgeon. She was wearing a black sweatshirt with a blue emblem on the front, and tie-dyed pant, as well as black and white sneakers. Her aunt said she was also carrying a dark green backpack and wearing glasses with a clear rim.
Family members learned that Hannah exited the train around Pico Station, which is one of the places they went to look after arriving for the search. “It wasn't a good neighborhood," Pidgeon says. "And the officers that were there and people that we spoke with, they were like, you don't come here after dark."
The family worries that she might have been abducted or trafficked, but when contacted by PEOPLE on Wednesday, Nov. 20, the Los Angeles Police Department said there was no update and that the investigation is ongoing.
Pidgeon says Hannah's friends have also been "flying out from everywhere" to help them search.
“She has so many friends,” Pidgeon says. “She's one of the best friends you've ever met."
“Hannah's the person that, let's say it's 2:30 a.m. and you break up with your boyfriend and you look at your contact list and you say, ‘Who can I call?' You call Hannah — because she picks up her phone all the time, and if she doesn't pick up her phone, she'll call you back in five minutes," she adds.
For updated information, Pidgeon recommends following the family's Facebook group, Help Us Find Hannah.
As for any message she wants to share, Pidgeon says she wants her niece to know "we will never give up, ever."
"We are looking for you, and we will continue to look for you,” her aunt says, adding, “If someone has her, I want them to know that they have the most beautiful little soul — please take care of her...and give us back our Hannah.”