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The family of Hannah Kobayashi said they would “honor” refund requests to those who contributed towards a search fund for the formerly missing Hawaii woman.
When Kobayashi went missing, a GoFundMe page was created by her sister, Sydni Kobayashi, to raise funds for the search. As of Thursday morning, $47,412 of a $50,000 target had been raised on GoFundMe. But on Wednesday, just over a month since the 30-year-old vanished, the family issued a statement confirming Kobayashi was safe.
While Kobayashi is alive and well, the case took a tragic turn when the family’s patriarch, Ryan Kobayashi, killed himself while looking for his daughter in Los Angeles. In an update on November 26, Sydni said the funds raised would also be used for the unexpected cost of his funeral.
The family said in a further update that they were turning donations off. “Any donor who would like a refund can submit a claim by December 18th, and it will be honored,” the post on the fundraising platform said.
However, as of December 12, donors could still give to the fundraiser.
Sara Azari, the family’s attorney, posted a statement on Wednesday confirming that Kobayashi was no longer missing and that the family requested privacy.
“This past month has been an unimaginable ordeal for our family, and we kindly ask for privacy as we take the time to heal and process everything we have been through,” the statement said. “We want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported us during this difficult time.”
Dozens of people responded to Azari’s post with anger.
“The family needs to be accountable and refund all the $ given to them,” one person wrote on X in response.
“Why is the GoFundMe account still active and accepting donations?” another said. “When are they closing down the GFM and refunding the public?”
Another person said: “They need to pay back the donated funds.”
The Independent has contacted Azari and GoFundMe for comment.
Earlier this month the Los Angeles Police Department determined that Kobayashi had crossed the border into Mexico, pointing to surveillance footage of her buying a bus ticket from L.A. to the Mexican border.
On Wednesday, police told People magazine it was notified by the family that Kobayashi had been found. The department previously determined the woman’s disappearance as voluntary, a designation family members challenged.
Kobayashi boarded a plane to Los Angeles on November 8, but didn’t get on a planned connecting flight to New York, where she had a job taking photographs at a DJ performance.
She told her family she had missed her flight and planned to sleep at the Los Angeles airport.
Family members and friends said they then began receiving concerning messages sent from Kobayashi’s phone.
“Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f**k since Friday,” one message to a friend said, according to screenshots her sister sent CNN. “I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds,” said another, which was followed by: “For someone I thought I loved.”
They eventually began to fear she was a victim of kidnapping or human trafficking.
Days after her flight, however, she was photographed around Los Angeles, including at the upscale Grove shopping center.
Her last Instagram post on November 10 seemed to indicate she was still in Los Angeles. Her family lost contact with her the following day.
