Hannah Kobayashi has spoken publicly for the first time since her mysterious disappearance from Los Angeles Airport last year — an event that garnered international attention and culminated in the tragic suicide of her father, Ryan Kobayashi, during the search for her.
Hannah Kobayashi, 30, spoke about “loss, pain, and suffering” in a recent and since-disappeared Instagram Story, according to SFGate and a video shared by the Daily Mail.
In the clip, the Maui photographer thanked “every single person who dedicated time and energy into looking for me" amid the viral 2024 search.
Without specifically naming her late father by name, Kobayashi continued, “Every day is such a gift, especially after such loss and pain and suffering. We should all learn to be kind to one another.”
Kobayashi reportedly told SFGate on Monday that she plans to reveal more information about her disappearance in the future.
“Given my particular situation on the other side of my experience, I understand how some people would choose to cast me in a negative light, but I know who I am, I know my truth and one day, I will share it,” she said.
“I do believe that we can all learn to be kinder to one another because we never really know what someone else has been through unless we’ve walked in their shoes,” Kobayashi added.
The Independent has contacted Kobayashi for comment.
On November 8, 2024, Kobayashi missed a connecting flight from LAX to New York, where she was supposed to go to a concert and visit a family member. Instead, she was later seen on security footage at The Grove shopping center in LA, prompting her family to believe that something could have happened.
Cryptic texts to her family members also worried them, including a message that read, “I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds. For someone I thought I loved.”
Kobayashi then took a bus to Mexico and crossed the border on foot, prompting police to end their search by labeling her a "voluntary missing person."
Her father, Ryan, called the situation “every parent’s nightmare” before dying by suicide near LAX amid the search.
Kobayashi was found in Mexico on December 11, 2024, and returned to the US four days later. Without much of an explanation on her disappearance, Kobayashi told NBC News that she was unaware of the media attention and now focused on her healing, peace, and creativity.
Kobayashi made her first Instagram post since her disappearance on May 4, posting a black and white photo of trees. One user asked Kobayashi why she did not attend her dad’s funeral, to which she responded, "You don't know the whole story.”
“My intention in this post is to acknowledge that I am going to speak about my experience — and to stand up against all the hate that was cast upon me,” Kobayashi continued. “I hope that in your darkest hours, you are shown compassion and love versus hate and judgment."
