Another major twist in the ‘disappearance’ of Hannah Kobayashi, the 30-year-old photographer from Hawaii whose father allegedly took his own life after a fruitless search for his daughter, has apparently drawn in the FBI after her mother discovered that she may have engaged in a secret marriage for money.
New information about Kobayashi’s ties to a a possible immigration scam comes a day after LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell announces his investigators tracked Kobayashi to the border where she crossed into Mexico on Nov. 12, four day after her arrival at LAX.
Sources tell Los Angeles that Kobayashi was apparently scammed out of the proceeds of a purported immigration scheme possibly concocted by her former partner, who left Maui with Kobayashi on Nov. 8 and landed at LAX with plans to catch a connecting flight to New York City. Also on the plane, sources say, was Kobayashi’s new husband, Alan Cacace, an Argentinian man whose own girlfriend, Marianna, was reportedly on the flight with Kobayashi’s ex.
The possible visa scam was uncovered, sources told Los Angeles, by Kobayashi’s mother, who discovered immigration documents in her daughter’s home in Hawaii that listed an immigration attorney. “That attorney was not cooperative with the mom,” one source close to the investigation said. Her mother then turned the documents over to the FBI and LAPD, the source said.
On Wednesday night her family released a statement saying they have not verified the marriage, or photos of the marriage posted by her alleged groom on his social media that has since been removed. They also confirmed that what Kobayashi’s mom found was “turned over the alleged information to law enforcement immediately upon receipt,” in the statement through their Los Angeles attorney Sara Azari.
On Tuesday, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell announced that Kobayashi was classified as “a voluntary missing person,” after investigators uncovered a video of her walking into Mexico alone with her luggage from a San Diego border crossing twelve days before her father, Ryan, 53, apparently leapt to his death from a parking structure near the airport.
According to McDonnell, Kobayashi wanted to “step away from modern connectivity” and the LAPD did not believe she was a victim of foul play. But Kobayashi’s family continues to demand answers from his department. Following McDonnell’s press conference late Tuesday afternoon, the family requested to see video evidence of Kobayashi crossing into Mexico, as they were previously unaware that the LAPD had tracked her to the border on November 12.
After her arrival in Los Angeles, a photo of which was released by California State Attorney General Rob Bonta, Kobayashi was spotted at the Grove shopping center on Nov. 9. Then on Sunday Nov. 10, she returned to the Grove and was captured in a video posted by a shopper and posted on YouTube attending a Lebron James popup event at the Nike store. A photo of the event was also posted on Hannah’s Instagram page that same day. The LAPD issued a missing persons poster for Hannah on Nov. 13.
LAPD issued a poster for Hannah Kobayashi on Nov. 15
An FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the LAPD’s Missing Persons Unit commander.
