The sister of Hannah Kobayashi, the Hawaii woman who vanished while heading to New York City, shared a moving tribute Tuesday to their father, who jumped to his death during the ongoing search for his still-missing daughter.
“You’re with the angels, dad,” Sydni Kobayashi wrote on Facebook alongside a photo of her 58-year-old father, Ryan Kobayashi.
“I love you and miss you so much. I’m going to continue to stay strong for you. We’re going to find Hannah,” she vowed of the ongoing search for her sister.
Ryan Kobayashi was found dead Sunday after jumping off a parking structure near the Los Angeles International Airport, where his daughter, Hannah, missed a connecting flight to New York more than two weeks ago, police said.
Sydni had also confirmed her dad’s death in a GoFundMe post that’s helping the family search for Hannah, and now for Ryan’s funeral.
“We are heartbroken to share that my father, Ryan Kobayashi, has tragically passed during the search for Hannah,” she revealed.
“As we continue searching for Hannah, we also face the unexpected costs of Ryan’s funeral. Donations will now support both the search for Hannah and honoring Ryan’s memory,” Sydni added.
Police said Ryan died sometime at around 4 a.m. on Sunday, after spending 13 days looking for his missing daughter.
Neither the family nor police have said what led Ryan to jump to his death.
Hannah flew on Nov. 8 from Maui to Los Angeles, where she was set to hop on a connecting flight to New York for a “bucket list” trip and to visit her aunt.
Officials, however, said she missed her flight despite surveillance footage indicating she landed at LAX.
Other footage showed Kobayashi at the Grove shopping center in the Fairfax District of LA on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10, as well as video of her returning to LAX but not getting on a flight on Nov. 11 before she was seen near the metro station, USA Today reported.
Her family began to worry about her after they began receiving odd text messages from her before she vanished, including one that claimed she “got tricked into pretty much giving away all my funds.”
“Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f—k since Friday,” one of the final messages read.
Her family claimed the texts they received from Hannah were not like her.
The family filed a police report with the LAPD, LAX authorities and the FBI, with officials still on the look for Hannah.
She is described as being 5 feet 10 inches tall and about 140 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes and is fair-skinned with freckles.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.