On 11 November 2024, Hannah Kobayashi, a 30-year-old woman from Hawaii, was reported missing in Los Angeles after supposedly “missing” her connecting flight to New York. While Kobayashi was initially captured on CCTV at different locations around Los Angeles, she later vanished from sight on 12 November. Fast forward to almost a month later and, despite police coming to what appears to be an official conclusion, netizens on TikTok are convinced there’s actually much more to this increasingly bizarre story.

This case is incredibly complex and everyone appears to have a different theory as to what has happened to Kobayashi. As of 2 December, after weeks of searching, the LAPD labelled the 30-year-old as a “voluntarily missing person.” This came after reports that Kobayashi was last seen by US authorities safely crossing the southern US border into Mexico. In a news conference, officials described the young woman as appearing to be safe and presumed that no foul play was suspected. 

After a month of endless questions, you might be thinking ‘Perhaps she just wants to disappear and not be found?’ This could be the case, but a number of TikTok sleuths feel differently—and they’ve taken to the video-sharing-platform to discuss and theorise all the potential explanations for Kobayashi’s strange behaviour ever since she was first reported missing. So, without further ado, why don’t we get into it together?

Hannah Kobayashi is a 30-year-old woman from Maui who disappeared after missing a flight at Los Angeles International Airport. Kobayashi, who was due to catch a connecting flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, was later seen at a bookstore near The Grove shopping mall and then at the LeBron XXII Trial Experience, an event held at the Nike store. The Maui local was even seen in a promotional video for the LeBron experience event.

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A post shared by Hannah Kobayashi (@midorieve)

According to news outlets, Kobayashi was regularly in contact with family members up until 11 November, informing them that she couldn’t wait to get to New York but was finding it difficult to book a new flight. Indeed, Kobayashi’s aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told the Los Angeles Times that it wasn’t until the 11th that the family began receiving alarming messages that didn’t sound right. Pigeon explained: “She was using words like ‘hun’ and ‘babe’ and saying ‘someone’s trying to steal my funds.’ She doesn’t talk like that. It was just out of character and the family sounded the alarm.”

It’s also important to note that Kobayashi was booked on the same flight as her ex-boyfriend.

Another crucial piece of information is that one of the last CCTV moments of Kobayashi showed the woman boarding a Metro train in LA with an “unidentified person.”

Naturally, her family has been exceedingly worried about her safety, so you can imagine their shock when they were then informed just a few days ago that Kobayashi had been spotted entering the Mexico border with her luggage in tow. Interpreting this as a sign that the 30-year-old was safe and purposefully avoiding detection, the police stated: “We’ve basically done everything we can do at this point. She’s left the country and is in another nation now.” Investigators followed this up with their findings that Kobayashi “expressed the desire to step away from modern connectivity.”

@shirleytempeh

Girl are you good? Are you in danger? Do you want us to leave you alone? Are you in a twin flame lover gurl cult? Tell us something! #hannahkobayashi #missinggirl #missingpersons #mexico #dtla #losangeles

♬ original sound - Shirley Tempeh

So, maybe she did just want to disappear? But then, who was the unidentified person with her at the train station? Don’t worry, we’re now getting to the TikTok theories.

One of the most tragic elements of this story has been the death of Hannah Kobayashi’s father, Ryan. It was confirmed on 24 November 2024 that Kobayashi’s 58-year-old dad had been found dead in a car park near the Los Angeles airport. Ryan had travelled to LA in hopes of retracing his daughter’s steps and hopefully learning more about her disappearance.

The LA County coroner’s office gave the cause of death as a suicide caused by multiple blunt force traumatic injuries. The RAD Movement, a non profit organisation aiding in the search for Kobayashi, shared in a Facebook post: “After tirelessly searching throughout Los Angeles for 13 days, Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life. This loss has compounded the family’s suffering immeasurably.”

Now, let’s delve into the TikTok videos and discussions surrounding Hannah Kobayashi’s disappearance. One of the main theories that I’ve seen online centres on Kobayashi’s participation in an alleged immigration scam.

Reports began surfacing that Kobayashi had married an Argentinian man to help him get a green card to stay in the US, as part of a scheme possibly hatched by her ex-boyfriend. Documents found by Kobayashi’s mother at her daughter’s home showed evidence of contact with an immigration lawyer.

@hiemilynoelle

Well thats that! #hannahkobayashi #family #statement #lawyer

♬ original sound - ☾𖤓 true crime w/ em

Information now suggests that not only was Kobayashi accompanied by her ex-boyfriend on the original flight to LAX, but that the Argentinian man and his real partner were also present.

This lead is confusing and quite difficult simply because there is so little information available to the public.

There are also of course some people who question whether or not that was even Kobayashi who was spotted crossing the border into Mexico: 

@dark_hive

lapd will not be releasing the video of hannah kobayashi #hannahkobayashi #missing #missingperson #lax #hawaii #mystery #breakingnews #news #fyp #mexico #xyzbca #update

♬ vertigo - insensible & énouement

Then there are those who are just desperate to know what might have prompted Kobayashi’s father to take his own life:

@jungnankang

Bro what is going on?!? 😩😭 #hannahkobayashi #losangeles #la #california #socal #cali #hawaii #hawaiitiktok #maui #mauihawaii #missingperson #missingpersons #news #newstiktok #mexico #ryankobayashi #asian #asiantiktok #runaway

♬ original sound - Kimchi Cakes

One of the most interesting theories about Kobayashi, however, hints towards a highly toxic and controversial romance scheme. Does anyone remember one of Netflix’s most popular docuseries Escaping Twin Flames? Is it possible that Kobayashi fell victim to a love scam?

@shutuptiffany

The more research I do into finding out what happened to Hannah Kobayashi, the more confused I get. Anyway, a new episode of @DrenchedInDramaPod will be out tonight on #Apple and #Spotify #podcast and we are covering this absolutely mind-boggling #missing person’s case. Wherever #FindHannah is, I hope she is safe. My heartfelt condolences to the family for the death of her father Ryan Kobayashi. 🤍

♬ original sound - 💎ShutUpTiffany💎

One could spend hours dissecting all of these potential rumours and theories. At the end of the day, it’s likely that we’ll never know the full truth. All we can do is hope that wherever Kobayashi is now, she’s safe.