The father of a missing Hawaii woman was found dead in California on Sunday after traveling there to search for her.
Ryan Kobayashi, 58, had recently gone to Los Angeles to help locate his 30-year-old daughter, Hannah Kobayashi, who disappeared earlier this month during a layover at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on her way to New York City.
Authorities in Los Angeles confirmed that Mr. Kobayashi was found deceased in a car park near the airport. According to the LA County Coroner’s Office, his death was ruled a suicide caused by multiple blunt force traumatic injuries.
Hannah Kobayashi, a photographer from Maui, went missing shortly after arriving at LAX on November 8. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain unclear, and the LAPD has launched a search. She had been en route to visit her aunt, Geordan Montalvo, in New York City for a concert described as a “bucket list” trip.
Family and friends reported receiving unusual text messages from Ms. Kobayashi's phone after her disappearance. In the messages, she claimed she had been “tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds” to “someone I thought I loved.” She has been spotted a few times since—once at an LA mall on November 10 and again the next day on surveillance footage near a downtown metro train station with an unidentified individual.
On Monday, a non-profit organization assisting in the search, the RAD Movement, confirmed that Mr. Kobayashi had died by suicide.
“After tirelessly searching throughout Los Angeles for 13 days, Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life,” the group said in a Facebook post. “This loss has compounded the family’s suffering immeasurably.”
The RAD Movement urged the public to continue efforts to locate Ms. Kobayashi, stressing that she is still missing and believed to be in imminent danger.
Police sources told *People* magazine that officers were called to the airport car park after receiving a phone alert about Mr. Kobayashi.
Before his death, Mr. Kobayashi spoke at a rally, expressing his concern and confusion over his daughter’s disappearance. “We’re just trying to get as much information as we can,” he said. “Everything is just a blur it seems, because I haven’t slept well since I’ve heard the news.”
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