The family of a deceased father, who had been looking for his missing daughter, has started a GoFundMe page to try to assist his bereaved fiancée and loved ones.
A 58-year-old father named Ryan Kobayashi lost his life after committing an apparent suicide on Sunday, November 24. According to a report that has been confirmed by the police, he jumped from a parking structure close to LAX around 4 a.m.
Records shared by the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner stipulate that Ryan, who was born on April 14, 1966, had been found in a parking lot. Currently, the manner of his case (2024-18381) is being looked into by an investigator named Karly Anderson.
Adding further insult to injury is the fact that before his demise, Ryan had been searching for his 30-year-old daughter, Hannah Kobayashi, after the Hawaiian woman missed her connecting flight from LAX to New York.
According to the missing woman’s family, who has been searching for her for two weeks, Hannah was supposed to meet with her loved ones on November 8. Ryan’s niece, Emi Ko, has started a GoFundMe page in honor of her late uncle.
The purpose of the account is to try and provide support to Ryan’s fiancée, Li Jaena, and the Kobayashi family, as they “navigate through this devastating time.”
“Ryan Kobayashi flew to Los Angeles immediately after learning of Hannah’s disappearance. Tragically, Ryan is no longer with us, leaving us all heartbroken and at a loss for words,” expressed Li in the GoFundMe’s description.
Emi went on to describe her uncle as “a truly remarkable person who lit up every room with his positivity and kind heart.”
She then expressed, “He has been living his absolute worst nightmare, since Hannah’s disappearance, and now, with his passing, our family is grappling with unimaginable grief.”
The bereaved niece continued to highlight how important Ryan’s family was to him, noting how he would go above and beyond “to protect and care for his daughters.” She then reiterated her plea to the public, asking for their help to assist Li’s “soulmate.”
“Thank you for your kindness, generosity, and for keeping our family in your thoughts as we navigate through this tragedy,” concluded Emi. The GoFundMe’s target sits at $2,000.
Before Emi started Ryan’s GoFundMe page, Hannah’s sister, Sydni Kobayashi, created an account to help raise funds for the family’s search. She started the page on behalf of Hannah’s mom, Brandi Yee.
Sydni began by explaining that Hannah has been missing since November 11 (Monday), with her last known location being LAX.
After providing background information concerning the fact that Hannah had missed her connecting flight, Sydni divulged, “While the community support have [sic] been truly astonishing, the scope and intensity of the search are expanding, and so are the expenses with them.”
She continued, “We still have not even been able to get any answers from LAPD or LAX and feel we need to continue to push harder to expedite the process. We are raising money to support the continuing mission to bring Hannah home.”
The concerned sister then mapped out how the family anticipated using the funds, which includes providing water and food for the search teams, many of whom Sydni said are volunteers. She also listed transportation for both the family and the “critical support team.”
Other necessities listed include technology and communication devices “for an extensive search area with no cell phone service, a media campaign to maximize awareness of Hannah’s missing person case and how to get in touch with the appropriate authorities.”
Additionally, Sydni included on-site support for her and her family and interim accommodation for “essential personnel.”
“These funds will go directly to that effort. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. Let’s bring my sister home safely,” reads the end of the GoFundMe page, which has a target total of $30,000.
In addition to the GoFundMe, Hannah’s sister shared a post on Facebook that featured a missing person notice about Hannah on November 23.
Aside from disclosing Hannah’s distinguishable physicalities, her place of residence, and who to contact with information, the notice also revealed, “She was last seen in alarming video footage in the Crypto.com Arena / LA Convention Center area in Downton LA and she is NOT alone.”
“please [sic] continue to post every day 🙏🏼,” captioned Sydni above the photo of Hannah and the case details. On November 15, Hawaii News Now reported on Hannah’s missing case and revealed the last communication Hannah had with her mom, Brandi.
“I didn’t hear from her. I texted her, ‘Hey, are you in New York City yet?’ She just texted me, ‘Not yet,’” disclosed Brandi.
According to the worried mother, Hannah was excited to see her aunt in New York. So much so that she even had a hand-written itinerary mentioning, “Bucket list dreams become a reality.”
After texting Hannah, Brandi said she reached out to her sister (Hannah’s aunt) to ask if she had heard anything from her daughter. “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,” stated Brandi.
According to Hawaii News Now, a short YouTube clip surfaced online on Thursday (November 14), showing Hannah outside of an event in Los Angeles on Saturday (November 9).
Although Hannah’s loved ones have not heard from her since she was last seen at LAX on Monday (November 11), a friend said she received peculiar text messages from the missing woman.
In part, the messages read, “I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds. For someone I thought I loved.” According to Brandi and Sydni, Hannah had also texted the friend that she was at LAX and scared.
“She texted her […] that she couldn’t come back home or something […] 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,” added Sydni.
The Kobayashi family had filed a missing person’s report with the Los Angeles Police Department and asked anyone who may know any information to call them 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,” pleaded Brandi.
At this time, we send our most heartfelt condolences to the Kobayashi family for their loss of Ryan and hope that their continued search for Hannah will be successful.
