Police say a Hawaii woman disappeared voluntarily and traveled to Mexico

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Hawaii woman who vanished after landing in Los Angeles three weeks ago disappeared voluntarily as she sought to “step away from modern connectivity” and was last seen crossing into Mexico with her luggage, police said at a news conference where they urged her to contact her distraught family.

Hannah Kobayashi, 30, appeared unharmed as she walked alone into a covered walkway at the San Ysidro crossing about 125 miles (201 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles around noon on Nov. 12, the day after her family reported her missing, LA police said Monday. Authorities made the discovery after reviewing surveillance video from U.S. Customs and Border Protection late Sunday.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said there is no evidence Kobayashi was being trafficked or was otherwise a victim of a crime. Her disappearance is now classified as a “voluntary missing person.”

“We’ve basically done everything we can do at this point. She’s left the country and in another nation now,” he said, adding that if she returns to the U.S., law enforcement will be notified.

McDonnell said she has a right to her privacy, but urged her to reach out to her family or law enforcement.

“A simple message could reassure those who care about her,” McDonnell said. He explained that the missing person case will remain active until her safety is confirmed by law enforcement.

Kobayashi went missing after the budding photographer from Maui didn’t make a connecting flight to New York on Nov. 8 to travel for a new job and to visit relatives. She told her family she would sleep in the Los Angeles International Airport that night.

Family members assumed she was on standby for another flight, according to her aunt, Larie Pidgeon. The next day, Kobayashi texted them to say she was sightseeing in Los Angeles, planning to visit The Grove shopping mall and downtown LA, Pidgeon said.

On Nov. 11, the family received “strange and cryptic, just alarming” text messages from her phone that referenced her being “intercepted” as she got on a Metro train and being scared that someone might be stealing her identity, her aunt said.

Her father, Ryan Kobayashi, who had been in the search party along with volunteers, was found dead by apparent suicide on Sunday, Nov. 24, in a parking lot near LA International Airport, police and her family said.

McDonnell said during a police commission meeting last Tuesday that detectives determined Hannah Kobayashi missed her connecting flight intentionally. Kobayashi's sister, Sydni Kobayashi, disputed his statement in a social media post.

Police said Monday that after Hannah Kobayashi was seen in various locations around LA, she requested that her luggage, which had been checked to New York, be sent back to LAX. She then returned to the airport to retrieve it on Nov. 11 and did not have her phone when she left again, according to police.

Investigators found that she had “expressed the desire to step away from modern connectivity."

Police also identified and questioned a man that Kobayashi was seen with on the Metro. He was “cooperative” and said he met her at LAX, police said.

Sydni Kobayashi did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Members of the public who were in the “Help Us Find Hannah” Facebook group, which garnered the interest of more than 25,000 participants, shared a post from the group Monday that said the family would be shutting the group down after “threats against their lives and the lives of their small children.”

The post also said Sydni Kobayashi and her mother would not be responding to any messages.

Authorities in Mexico said Tuesday that they've been been alerted about the missing woman, but haven’t received any official request to search for her.

“Up to now, there has not been any formal complaint filed with the state prosecutor's office on the disappearance of this woman," said an official with the Baja California state prosecutor’s office who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case. "Baja authorities are completely willing to help American authorities on this case, and agents have been alerted about her case if she is found."

During the Los Angeles news conference, the police chief reflected on all that the family had endured these last few weeks.

“My ask would be to anybody considering doing this, think about the people you’re leaving behind, your loved ones who are going to be worried sick about you,” McDonnell said.

The story has been updated to correct the location of San Ysidro to southeast of Los Angeles, not southwest.

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press journalists Christopher Weber in Los Angeles and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Ryan Kobayashi, center, holds a picture of his missing daughter Hannah Kobayashi outside Crypto.com Arena, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A group led by left-wing activists filed a second impeachment complaint against the Philippine vice president on Wednesday over her alleged misuse of government funds and demanded that she be permanently barred from holding public office.

The impeachment complaint filed by at least 74 activists, including human rights, labor and student leaders, before the House of Representatives reflects the extent of the political hostilities faced by Vice President Sara Duterte. She did not immediately comment on the new impeachment complaint or an earlier one filed Monday.

Duterte, a 46-year-old lawyer, is the daughter of also-controversial former President Rodrigo Duterte, who oversaw a bloody anti-drug crackdown while in office. The killing of thousands of suspects during the crackdown is being investigated by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity.

Her No. 1 political adversary has been President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., whom she publicly threatened with death in a Nov. 23 online news conference.

Government investigators have launched a criminal investigation into her threat against the president, his wife and the speaker of the House of Representatives, a cousin and ally of Marcos. Duterte has tried to walk back her comments by saying they were not a direct death threat but rather an expression of concern for her own safety.

The complaint filed Wednesday accused the vice president of “betrayal of public trust over the illegal use and mishandling of 612.5 million pesos ($10.3 million) in confidential funds,” according to a statement by the complainants.

The impeachment complaint said that in addition to the alleged misuse of the confidential and intelligence funds, the vice president and her staff allegedly tried to cover up the irregularities by submitting fabricated reports, receipts and documents to the Commission on Audit and deliberately obstructing a congressional investigation.

It said that in December 2022, the vice president’s office spent 125 million pesos ($2 million) in 11 days during the Christmas holidays for suspicious expenditures, including renting “safe houses,” paying for unspecified confidential information and financing rewards, which it said were not clearly explained by Duterte.

“Wasting the confidential funds is a big betrayal of the people,” said Liza Maza, a leading complainant from the Makabayan political coalition. “This is not just a simple technical violation but a systematic misuse and robbery of public funds.”

“The impeachment is the antidote to impunity,” said Renato Reyes of Bayan, another left-wing political coalition. “Citizens and taxpayers need to hold public officials accountable.”

On Monday, a group of civil society activists, including Roman Catholic priests and pro-democracy activists, filed an initial impeachment case that contained about 24 alleged crimes and irregularities, including her death threats against Marcos and her alleged role in the extra-judicial killings of drug suspects under her father's crackdown. She was also accused of failing to stand up to Chinese aggression in the disputed South China Sea.

The impeachment complaints will be examined by the House of Representatives, which is dominated by allies of Marcos and his cousin and key backer, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who also has been politically at odds with the vice president.

The process could take weeks or months. Congress is to start its Christmas recess on Dec. 20 and resume on Jan. 13. Many legislators will then start campaigning for reelection ahead of the May 12 midterm elections.

The House has been investigating the alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds received by Duterte’s offices as vice president and education secretary. She has since left the education post.

She has refused to respond to questions in detail in tense televised hearings. Philippine police have filed criminal complaints against Duterte and her security staff for allegedly assaulting authorities and disobeying orders in an altercation in Congress over the brief detention of her chief of staff, who was accused of hampering the congressional inquiry into the alleged misuse of funds.

The National Bureau of Investigation subpoenaed Duterte to face investigators on Dec. 11 about her threats against the president.

Marcos and Duterte won landslide victories as running mates in the 2022 election but have since fallen out over key differences. The two offices are elected separately in the Philippines, which has resulted in rivals occupying the country’s top political posts.

Associated Press journalists Aaron Favila and Joeal Calupitan contributed to this report.

House Secretary General, Reginald Velasco, left, receives a second impeachment complaint filed against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday Dec. 4, 2024 at the House of Representatives in Quezon City, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)