The family of missing Hawaiian photographer Hannah Kobayashi has revealed that police are investigating two suspicious Venmo transactions she made to a man and a woman after she missed her flight to New York from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in a major twist in her disappearance. Police are looking for the two people.
Hannah's family, already devastated by her father Ryan's suicide on Sunday, fears she may have been taken out of California. It is unclear why she left LAX and traveled into the city, 15 miles away. However, she texted a friend about experiencing a "spiritual awakening" and was last seen on November 11 with an unidentified man.
Mysterious Payment to Mysterious People
According to her aunt, Larie Pidgeon, Kobayashi, 30, made the payments on November 9, just one day after missing a connecting flight to New York and being stranded in Los Angeles, she told The US Sun.
At 6:25 p.m., Kobayashi sent one payment to a woman named Veronica Almendarez, accompanied by a bow and arrow emoji in the description.
Less than an hour later, at 7:19 p.m., she made another payment to a man named Jonathan Taylor with the note "Reading," which sources indicated was likely for a tarot card reading.
Hannah's sister, Sydni Kobayashi, said that the payments were made to individuals whose names were unfamiliar to the family.
"We have been made aware and so have the LAPD. It's in their hands," Pidgeon told The Sun.
"We are still focused on Downtown LA. Even though it's been 15 [days] we still have hope," she added.
The heartbroken aunt shared that the family is urging people nationwide to stay alert in case Hannah has been taken out of California.
"We are looking at all possibilities, hotels, metros, bus, train stations," she added.
The exact amounts Kobayashi sent to the recipients remain unclear, and neither has been accused of any wrongdoing.
According to The Sun, Taylor has made his social media accounts private and has not responded to repeated requests for comment. Almendarez was not mentioned in the report.
The LAPD confirmed to The Sun that the investigation into Kobayashi's disappearance is ongoing.
Mystery Deepens
The circumstances surrounding Hannah's disappearance remain unclear, further complicated by the tragic death of her father, Ryan, who took his own life on Sunday. He was found at the bottom of a parking structure near LAX after flying in to search for his missing daughter.
Hannah had sent a series of unsettling messages to her loved ones, saying that she had recently experienced a "spiritual awakening." These texts came after she was scheduled to meet her family in New York.
She had flown from Hawaii to Los Angeles on the same flight as her ex-boyfriend, who had purchased tickets for both of them before their breakup. While he continued on to New York, Hannah stayed behind.
He is reportedly "cooperating with police" following the discovery of a cryptic final message sent from Hannah's phone about her "spiritual awakening."
Security footage captured Hannah leaving the plane shortly before 10 p.m. on November 8. She was wearing a black hoodie, colorful sweatpants, and headphones as she moved through LAX.
Although she was scheduled to board a connecting flight at 11 p.m., she never made it. The next day, November 9, she was seen at The Grove shopping mall between noon and 3 p.m.
Hannah spent a lot of time at Taschen Books on November 9, where she stopped to charge her phone. At 2:43 p.m., she took a picture and sent it to her aunt before heading back to the airport, where she is believed to have stayed overnight.
In a separate YouTube video taken outside an event in Los Angeles on November 10, Hannah is seen wearing the same dark hoodie and headphones she had on at the airport. She was spotted at a Nike event featuring LeBron James around 3:30 p.m. that day. She also posted a photo from the event on Instagram, captioning it with an eye emoji.
Around 5 p.m., Hannah was seen speaking with a ticketing agent at LAX. On the same day, her family filed a missing-person report after receiving what they described as unusual and concerning messages from her.
In one of her texts, she claimed, "Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f**k since Friday." When her mother, Brandi Yee, texted to ask if she had reached New York, Hannah simply replied, "Not yet."
On November 11, Hannah was seen boarding a LAX Metro C Line train at the Aviation/Century Station at 9:02 p.m. She later transferred to another train at the Rosa Parks Station and was last seen leaving the Metro Pico Station at 10:03 p.m. with an unidentified individual.
