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Hannah Kobayashi disappearance: Cops probing suspicious Venmo payments Hawaii woman made before vanishing
Hannah Kobayashi made the payments to a man and woman on November 9, a day after she missed a connecting flight to New York and stayed back in Los Angeles.
Missing Hawaiian photographer Hannah Kobayashi’s family has claimed that two suspicious Venmo payments she made before disappearing are being investigated by police. Kobayashi, 30, mysteriously vanished while heading to New York City.
Kobayashi made the payments to a man and woman on November 9, a day after she missed a connecting flight to New York and stayed back in Los Angeles, her aunt Larie Pidgeon told the US Sun. One payment was made at 6:25 pm to a woman named Veronica Almendarez, along with a description of a bow and arrow emoji. At 7:19 pm, Kobayashi made a second payment to a man named Jonathan Taylor with the subject line “Reading,” and it reportedly appeared to be for a tarot card reading.
“We have been made aware and so have the LAPD. It’s in their hands,” Pidgeon told the outlet.
“We are still focused on Downtown LA. Even though it’s been 15 [days] we still have hope,” she added.
Kobayashi’s aunt also said that the family was asking people “across the nation to keep an eye in case she has been taken outside of California.” “We are looking at all possibilities, hotels, metros, bus, train stations,” she added.
It is unclear how much money Kobayashi sent the two people. The two recipients have not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The search for Hannah Kobayashi continues
The Kobayashi family’s woes continue as the young woman remains missing. To add to the misery, her father, 58-year-old Ryan Kobayashi, jumped to his death during the ongoing search for his daughter.
Sydni Kobayashi, the sister of Hannah, has launched a GoFundMe, seeking support for the search for her sister in the aftermath of their father’s death. “We are raising money to support the continuing mission to bring Hannah home,” the page reads, detailing how the funds will be used, including for “Food & hydration for the search teams, most of whom are volunteers,” “Transportation for our family and critical support team,” “Communication devices and technology for an extensive search area with no cell phone service,” and more.
