THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF HANNAH KOBAYASHI DID SHE REALLY WANTS TO BE DISAPPEAR?

A MONTH AFTER THE 30-YEAR-OLD HAWAII WOMAN MISSED A FLIGHT AND VANISHED, HER FAMILY IS CONVINCED SHE'S BEING TRAFFICKED-OR WORSE-IN MEXICO. POLICE INSIST SHE SIMPLY DOESN'T WANT TO BE FOUND

- JOHNNY DODD

REAL-LIFE GONE GIRL Hannah (left, in 2022) vanished after crossing the border on Nov. 12. "We are trying to remain hopeful," says her aunt Larie Pidgeon.

Shortly after noon on Nov. 12, Hannah Kobayashi walked through California's San Ysidro border crossing into Tijuana, Mexico. A gray backpack was slung over her shoulder as she strolled by herself, pulling a wheeled pink suitcase behind her. The 30-year-old Maui resident appeared to be like any other tourist looking for an adventure-but Hannah's loved ones fear her reality is much darker. Her family reported her missing one day earlier and spent three weeks searching for her before learning on Dec. 2 of her border crossing.

"I'm trying to make sense of it but still cannot," says Hannah's aunt Larie Pidgeon. "Knowing Hannah crossed the border does not provide the answers I need, nor does it ease the heartbreak I feel." Hannah-described by those who know her as a "free spirit"-has become the focus of a headline-making viral mystery that began after she missed her connecting flight in Los Angeles on Nov. 8 while traveling from Maui to New York City.

Over four days (see timeline) she wandered the streets of Los Angeles and sent friends and family members cryptic, troubling text messages ("Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds,& have had me on a mind f--- since Friday," she wrote to one friend). Then she ditched her cell phone and cut off all contact.