Hannah Kobayashi’s family said they are investigating whether she was involved in a possible green card marriage scam but stressed that nothing has been confirmed yet.
Police said Monday that Kobayashi, 30, of Hawaii, who was the center of a missing person search in Los Angeles, had willfully crossed into Mexico and was reclassified as a “voluntary missing person.”
A Los Angeles Magazine report published Wednesday, citing sources, said she may have been involved in a green card marriage as part of an immigration scam for money before she disappeared.
Hannah Kobayashi.
The report said Kobayashi may have been scammed out of proceeds in the purported scheme, involving her marrying an Argentine man.
The source said the possible scam was discovered by Kobayashi’s mother, who found immigration documents in her daughter’s Hawaii home that listed an immigration attorney.
The Los Angeles Magazine report said the FBI was investigating the possible marriage scam. NBC News has not verified the report. The FBI’s Los Angeles field office said it assisted in Kobayashi’s case, but it deferred comment to Los Angeles police.
Sara Azari, an attorney for the Kobayashi family, shared a statement on behalf of the family Wednesday saying: “We want to stress that the family has not publicly announced any information regarding an alleged marriage because we did not have the facts or the necessary documents to verify the legitimacy of this information.”
“The family has not confirmed the authenticity of the images or the accuracy of the information provided about a possible secret marriage. This is one of many leads we are actively investigating with the help of our attorney and investigative team,” the statement said, noting that the family turned over any information they had to law enforcement.
The family asked the public to “avoid jumping to conclusions or spreading unverified claims.”
“It is especially important not to perpetuate speculation that anyone is involved in a scam, as this only hinders our efforts to find Hannah and bring clarity and closure to the nightmare we are living because of her disappearance,” the statement said.
“We remain focused on verifying the details and leads we have received and ask for your understanding and patience as we continue our investigation,” the family said, thanking the public for its support and people involved in the search.
Concern for Kobayashi started Nov. 8, the day she landed at Los Angeles International Airport from Honolulu with plans to catch a connecting flight to New York City. She missed the connecting flight, and relatives said she used her time sightseeing in Los Angeles.
She went to The Grove shopping center, about 12 miles north of the Los Angeles airport, the following day and the day after that and returned to the airport each time, according to a timeline posted to the private Help Us Find Hannah Facebook page by Sydni Kobayashi, her sister.
On Nov. 11, she was seen speaking with a ticketing agent at the airport. Later that day, she got on a Metro train to South Los Angeles, then to downtown Los Angeles, accompanied by an unidentified man, police said. That day, family members said, she sent messages that concerned them because their content and voice didn’t seem to match hers.
“Hannah’s last message to us was alarming — she mentioned feeling scared, and that someone might be trying to steal her money and identity,” Kobayashi’s aunt Larie Pidgeon said on Facebook.
On Nov. 12, she was seen at a Greyhound bus station in downtown Los Angeles alone.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Monday that she was reported missing on Nov. 13 and the police department took over the case on Nov. 15.
Police said Monday they reviewed U.S. Customs and Border Protection video showing Kobayashi crossed into Mexico on foot at a land port in San Diego on Nov. 12, leading them to conclude she was missing voluntarily.
McDonnell said there’s no evidence Kobayashi is the victim of human trafficking or foul play. Police said at a news conference that detectives reviewed her social media accounts, which led them to believe she “wanted to disconnect.”
Kobayashi’s relatives had gathered in Los Angeles to search for her, and her father, Ryan Kobayashi, 58, died by suicide on Nov. 24 near the airport. The Los Angeles County medical examiner said he died as a result of multiple blunt force trauma injuries.
“I’m very sorry to the family for all that they’ve been through,” McDonnell said Monday.
Asked to comment on the possible marriage and the family’s concerns, Los Angeles police referred to Monday’s news conference as the last update they will provide.
Sydni Kobayashi said the family was not satisfied with the police conclusion.
“We’re just as confused and just as frustrated more than anything now,” Sydni Kobayashi said Tuesday on NBC News NOW’s “Top Story With Tom Llamas.”
She urged her sister to reach out to the family.
“I can’t stress enough how loved you are, how supported you are,” she said. “We’re really worried about you. No matter what situation you’re in, you always have a home to come to.”
Azari said the family would deploy volunteers to look for Hannah in Mexico.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
