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Hannah Kobayashi Was Found Safe: What’s Confirmed About Her Family Contact

Hannah Kobayashi was found safe in December 2024 and returned to the U.S. days later. The public record does not establish whether she is currently in contact with specific family members.
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Hannah Kobayashi was found safe, her family announced on December 11, 2024. That announcement was not the date she returned to the United States: LAPD said she presented herself for U.S. entry on December 15, and the department closed its case the next day. Public comments from Kobayashi through May 2025 do not confirm whether she is currently in contact with particular family members.

What “found” means in Hannah Kobayashi’s case

The phrase refers to separate milestones, not one event. Her mother and sister announced on December 11, 2024, through their lawyer, that she had been found safe. The Associated Press reported that details about her location and how she was found were not immediately available at the time (AP, December 11, 2024).

LAPD later said Customs and Border Protection notified the department that Kobayashi presented herself for entry into the United States on December 15 and appeared to be in good health. On December 16, police said they had closed the case and removed her from the Missing and Unidentified Persons System (LAPD statement and update).

Date Source Milestone
December 11, 2024 Her mother and sister, reported by the Associated Press Family announced that she had been found safe; details were not then available.
December 15, 2024 LAPD, based on notification from Customs and Border Protection; also reported in her later statement She presented herself for U.S. entry.
December 16, 2024 LAPD Police announced the case closure and her removal from the missing-person system.

What police said about her disappearance and return

LAPD said its review of border video showed Kobayashi crossing on foot into Mexico alone with her luggage on November 12. The department’s timeline says she had flown from Maui to Los Angeles on a prescheduled flight on November 8, did not board her planned New York connection, retrieved her checked luggage at LAX on November 11, and traveled to Union Station. She then took a bus to San Ysidro before crossing into Mexico. Her family reported her missing on November 11, according to the AP’s contemporaneous account (LAPD timeline; Associated Press).

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Police classified her as a “voluntary missing person” and said their investigation found no evidence that she was being trafficked or was the victim of foul play; LAPD also said she was not a suspect in criminal activity. Those are the department’s stated investigative findings, not a public account of every private detail of her time away. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said, “She has the right to privacy, and we respect her choices, but we also understand the concern her loved ones feel” (LAPD).

What Kobayashi said publicly—and what remains unknown

In a statement published by the Los Angeles Times on December 17, 2024, Kobayashi said she had not known about the media attention while she was away and asked for respect for herself and her family. She also said, “My focus now is on my healing, my peace and my creativity” (Los Angeles Times, December 17, 2024).

In an Instagram message reported by ABC News on May 20, 2025, she thanked people who supported her and explained why she had kept her earlier statement brief: “Anything I say would be scrutinized and picked apart, so I chose to keep it simple, truthful, and from my heart” (ABC News, May 20, 2025).

Those public remarks do not establish whether she is currently in contact with specific relatives. The family’s announcement that she had been found safe is not, by itself, confirmation of ongoing private communication. The reporting cited here documents her public comments through May 2025, not her present-day family relationships.

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How to read later updates

When a report says Kobayashi was “found,” check which milestone and source it means: the family announcement on December 11, her U.S. return on December 15, or LAPD’s case closure on December 16. For claims about contact with family, look for a direct, dated statement from Kobayashi or a clearly attributed confirmation; the public statements cited above do not answer that question.

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