Hannah Kobayashi has told her family she does not wish to return to Hawaii, after she was found safe earlier this week.
Kobayashi, 31, made contact with relatives on Wednesday to tell them that she was fine after disappearing from Los Angeles International Airport in November.
Her sister Sydni has now broken her silence on her being found, releasing a statement that she hoped would clear up any confusion.
In it, she said: ‘At this time, my mother and I have not physically seen Hannah. We do not have actual proof of where she is, other than that she is somewhere in Mexico.
‘We have only spoken to her over the phone, and she was allegedly found safe with Larie [her aunt], but at this time, she does not wish to return to us.’
Her statement also detailed how hard it had been on the family to be thrust into the spotlight amid her disappearance.
The search for her sister proved trying for her family, as some members had differing ideas as how to approach the difficult time.
Her father Ryan also took his own life after looking for her for 13 days, he was found dead on November 25 after he jumped from a parking garage in Los Angeles
Sydni’s aunt Larie Pidgeon and her sister also clashed over media interviews and disagreements over their GoFundMe to help find Hannah.
Hannah Kobayashi, 31, went missing in early November before she got in touch with her family last week to say she was okay
Kobayashi was seen at the Los Angeles International Airport on November 8, but she never got on her connecting flight to New York
‘Larie, a self-proclaimed social media influencer, immediately began participating in multiple interviews and became the self-appointed point of contact for the media. Despite my mother and I not being in support of this, it still happened.
‘There were many occasions when my mother and I requested that Larie respect our feelings and tone down her posts and interviews. Our priority was finding Hannah, not creating a media circus,’ Hannah wrote.
During the search, Sydni hit out at Pidgeon for her comments to the press.
‘It’s really unfortunate when you have to question family,’ she told NewsNation. ‘The fact that she has gone rogue and wants to disconnect from [our effort], that’s on her.’
‘I will do whatever I can to protect our family at this point and do whatever I can to still find my sister,’ Sydni continued.
‘And I no longer want to have any connection with the confusion that I feel like she’s caused since this case started with my sister.’
Family lawyer Sara Azari added that it is important to note that Hannah’s family comprises Sydni, ‘her mother and her uncle and that side’ and not Pidgeon.
It was unclear what exactly Pidgeon may have said that the other family members disagree with.
But the worried aunt told the New York Post that her niece is ‘throwing her under the bus’ because she wants to be in the limelight.
Hannah Kobayashi’s sister, Sydni, hit out at her aunt for comments she made to the press and now says she no longer considers her family
Kobayashi’s father Ryan, 58, joined the search after the family believed she might have been kidnapped. He is seen here alongside her aunt
‘They want to be the face,’ Pidgeon said of her extended family. ‘They want to be the whole thing… It’s really sad.’
She went on to say she agreed that the LAPD’s ruling that Kobayashi ‘voluntarily’ exited the airport and went to Mexico is probably true, but said she also planned to travel to Mexico to continue the search for her niece.
Sydni further claimed that she and her family had also dealt with ‘relentless scrutiny’ from public opinion.
‘The past 31 days have been an absolute hell for us, and I feel they will continue to be for a while, even as we try to transition back to some semblance of normalcy,’ she said.
‘Each day brought the unbearable uncertainty of whether my sister was alive or dead. Losing my father to suicide during this ordeal was more than my soul and heart could bear. I am human. Despite the differences any family has- and we all do – my son, family, and I loved him immensely.’
However, the family has also come under fire for not being truthful about her sister’s circumstances and profiting off of the GoFundMe set up to aid in the search for Hannah.
Sydni said: ‘My mother and I have remained completely transparent and have not misled or taken advantage of anyone.
‘While the GoFundMe lists my mother as the beneficiary, we have kept all the receipts to show where the funds have been used: for the search for my sister.
Sydni’s Facebook post further explained that her family had not lied and further condemned her aunt for certain mistruths. ‘There were times when we received information from the public or from Larie – to whom I no longer consider family – that turned out to be inaccurate or half-truths’
Kobayashi was initially reported missing on November 11 after she failed to board her connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York.
After weeks of searching, the Los Angeles Police Department revealed on Monday that the 30-year-old had ‘knowingly’ crossed the border into Mexico on November 12.
DailyMail.com revealed that she had been on the flight alongside her new Green Card husband Argentinian Alan Cacace in a bid to hoodwink immigration officials into believing their marriage was genuine.
Her ex-boyfriend Amun Miranda joined them on the same flight with his own Green Card wife Marianne – who just happened to be Cacace’s girlfriend.
Kobayashi and her ex boyfriend Miranda seen at a 2023 Christmas party
The love square was only possible after Cacace allegedly gave her $15,000 with the promise of another lump sum after appropriate immigration documents were issued.
The ruse of their sham marriage was already in the works after they tied the knot in October.
Cacace believed that pictures of him with Kobayashi sightseeing around The Big Apple would be enough to persuade officials that their marriage was for real.
Pictures of the ceremony were shown to Kobayashi’s colleagues at Up ‘N Smoke, the Maui smoke shop where she worked.
‘There was no secret,’ Desiree, a co-worker told DailyMail.com. ‘She told us about her plans.’
‘The Argentinian couple wanted to hop on the trip at the last minute because it presented an opportunity for photos of their “romantic vacation”,’ Desiree explained.
‘I’ve been running my brain all day, every day for the past month,’ Desiree told DailyMail.com just days before Kobayashi reached out to family declaring she was safe.
‘Something freaked her out that she dumped her trip and went to freaking Mexico. I can’t understand why she’d miss out on her bucket list trip.’
She and the Kobayashi family are now hoping they can now get those answers from Kobayashi in person.
