‘Really weird’ text messages prompt concern as Maui woman reported missing in Los Angeles

KAHULUI (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Maui woman is missing and her family is desperate for answers.
Hannah Kobayashi, 30, was heading to New York City to visit family on Friday, but she missed her connecting flight out of Los Angeles.
“I didn’t hear from her,” said Kobayashi’s mother, Brandi Yee. “I texted her, ‘Hey, are you in New York City yet?’ She just texted me, ‘Not yet.’”
Yee says Kobayashi was looking forward to seeing her aunt in the Big Apple. She even made a hand-written itinerary stating, “Bucket list dreams become a reality.”
Yee said, “My sister, I reached out to her, and I’m like, ‘Hey, have you heard from Hannah?’ She’s like, ‘No. She’s supposed to meet me at the hotel in New York City and we’re supposed to go to a show tonight.’”
Hannah only had 42 minutes to make her connecting flight. Her mom thinks she might have missed it.
A short YouTube video surfacing on Thursday backs up her belief. It shows Hannah outside of an event in Los Angeles on Saturday.
The last pinned location the family has on her phone shows Hannah back at LAX on Monday.
Since then, the Haiku resident has fallen silent, and her family hasn’t heard from her.
One friend, however, received strange text messages from Kobayashi’s phone.
The messages read in part, “I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds,” with a second message that said, “For someone I thought I loved.”
“She heard from Hannah. She was at LAX, and she said that she was scared,” Yee said.
Kobayashi’s sister, Sydni Kobayashi, said, “She texted her that she was scared and that she couldn’t come back home or something. It was just really weird texts.”
Sydni Kobayashi added, “It’s weird to me because it doesn’t sound like her, like there’s just something off about it. So I wasn’t too sure. I don’t know if it’s her or if someone else was texting.”
The family has filed a missing person’s report with the Los Angeles Police Department.
“We just wanted to get the word out as soon as possible, because the more time that passes, the less we know what happens,” said Yee. “Anything could happen.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the family at (845) 750-3006.
“Please help her, if you can. If you know where she’s at, or you have the chance to just help her, please. We just want to bring her home,” said Yee.
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