Dad of missing Hannah Kobayashi found dead in LA
A father of a missing Hawaii woman was found dead on Sunday in California after he travelled there to search for her.
Ryan Kobayashi had recently journeyed to Los Angeles to help search for his daughter, Hannah Kobayashi, 30. She went missing earlier this month after a stopover at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on her way to New York City.
Officials in LA confirmed that Mr Kobayashi, who was 58, has since been found dead in a car park near the airport.
Both police and the coroner’s office have not publicly given a suspected cause of death.
Ms Kobayashi, a photographer who lived in Maui, went missing shortly after landing in LAX on 8 November. It remains unclear what has happened to her, and the LAPD has launched a search.
She was set to visit her aunt Geordan Montalvo in New York to attend a concert, in what was described as a "bucket list" trip.
Since her disappearance, family and friends have said that they received odd text messages from her mobile phone, in which she said 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, they said - once at a Los Angeles mall on 10 November, and again the following day in surveillance video around a downtown metro train station with an unknown person.
On Monday, a non-profit group aiding in the search 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, known as the RAD Movement, said in a Facebook post.
"This loss has compounded the family's suffering immeasurably."
The group called for the search for Ms Kobayashi to continue, while the family takes "space to grieve and process this significant loss".
"Hannah IS still actively missing and is believed to be in imminent danger," the group wrote. "It is crucial for everyone to remain vigilant in their efforts to locate Hannah."
Speaking to the media at a rally before his death, Mr Kobayashi said: "We’re just trying to get us as much information as we can."
He added that he had been worried and confused since his daughter's disappearance.
"Everything is just a blur it seems, because I haven’t slept well since I’ve heard the news," he said.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised you can visit the BBC's Action Line pages, or contact Samaritans in the UK.
If you're in the US, call 988, or contact Lifeline.
