Missing Hawaii Woman Intentionally Missed Her Flight, Police Say, Family Disagrees

Hannah Kobayashi intentionally missed her connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York City, police say, though her family disagrees.

The missing Hawaii woman, 30, landed at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Nov. 8, when she was due to take a connecting flight to Manhattan. However, Hannah never made it onto the plane, her family told Fox affiliate KHON.

Hannah’s phone last pinned her location at LAX three days later on Nov. 11, which was also the final time anyone from her family heard from her. Hannah’s aunt, Larie Pidgeon, later wrote on Facebook on Nov. 14 that the last text messages her family received from her were “alarming.”

Speaking at a Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners meeting on Nov. 26, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said police determined Hannah had intentionally missed her flight that day.

“On Friday November 8th, 23-year-old Hannah Kobayashi missed her connecting flight from LAX to New York, which the investigation determined was intentional,” McDonnell said.

“On November 15th our missing persons unit assumed investigative responsibility. Detectives have been diligently reviewing video surveillance and employing various investigative techniques to locate Hannah, while her family has continued their personal search efforts,” he continued, adding that authorities “remain fully committed to locating Hannah.”

On Saturday, Nov. 30, in a statement shared on Facebook that was seen by PEOPLE, Hannah’s mother and sister addressed the police investigation.  

Hannah’s sister said that “it does not appear that Hannah intentionally missed her flight” and claimed she and her family were “unaware of the alleged findings presented at the Los Angeles Police Commission meeting until multiple videos of the meeting were sent to us by multiple citizens.” 

“These alleged findings have yet to be relayed to my mother and I directly from the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department or any detective involved in Hannah’s case,” Hannah’s sister further explained.

The mother and daughter went on to claim that certain details shared by McDonnell about the case in the meeting were inaccurate.

“Specific facts contained in that report were inaccurate, such as Hannah’s age. Hannah is 30 years old, not 23,” the pair wrote. “Also, Hannah was reported missing to Law Enforcement on November 11th, not November 13th, as stated by the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.”

“The lack of communication surrounding some important details has left us feeling excluded from potentially crucial developments. However, we do remain hopeful and optimistic that the Los Angeles Police Department is doing everything in their power to assist us in locating Hannah,” the statement added.

The LAPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Sunday, Dec. 1.

Hannah’s mother and sister also said in their statement that they were “devastated by Hannah’s disappearance and now my father Ryan’s passing.”

Hannah’s father Ryan Kobayashi, who had traveled to Los Angeles to look for his daughter, died by suicide on Nov. 24, two weeks after his daughter disappeared, according to the L.A. County Medical Examiner.

His cause of death was multiple blunt force traumatic injuries, according to the medical examiner report reviewed by PEOPLE.

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Concluding their social media statement, Hannah’s mother and sister said it “is completely out of character” for her to “simply disappear without a trace.”

“We remain deeply concerned about Hannah’s safety, her well being [sic] and her current state of mind,” they wrote. “Hannah if you happen to see this, know that we are not going to give up or stop searching until we find you. We know that this is something that you would never do on your own accord, unless you felt some type of threat or you were unwell. We know how much you love all of us, and we love you deeply.”