The story of formerly missing Hannah Kobayashi is finally unraveling one month after her disappearance.
In a shocking yet simultaneously relieving turn of events on Wednesday, the Hawaii resident made contact with her family one month to the day after going missing. Theories surrounding her disappearance were rampant as she mysteriously missed a connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York and concerned friends and family members with odd text messages. However, said theories all went out the window after police discovered footage of her crossing the US-Mexico border on foot soon after going missing, which ultimately led to the reclassification of her status as “voluntary missing person.”
Cops also found evidence she was involved in a marriage visa scam with her ex-boyfriend and an Argentinian couple… And we’re now hearing more about it — from her co-workers who apparently KNEW about the grift!
Before Hannah went missing, she was traveling on the same flight as her ex-boyfriend Amun Miranda, whom she booked the trip with months before they split. They both still decided to go, and also on the plane was the Argentinian couple Hannah and Amun were allegedly involved with. Hannah reportedly married the man Alan Cacace, while Amun reportedly involved the woman Marianne in a bid to secure them both US citizenship. But not without a price! According to DailyMail.com, Alan gave Hannah $15,000 and promised more once his immigration documents were official. Apparently, they had tied the knot in a sham wedding in October, and were allowing time for things to look legit. That’s actually part of the reason why the four of them were all headed to New York together — to use the opportunity to take some romantic pics in the Big Apple to help convince immigration officials that their marriage was legit! And apparently Hannah told a co-worker at the Maui-based smoke shop Up ‘N Smoke about the whole plan. The co-worker in question, a woman by the name of Desiree, told the outlet on Thursday:
“There was no secret. She told us about her plans. The Argentinian couple wanted to hop on the trip at the last minute because it presented an opportunity for photos of their ‘romantic vacation.’”
According to Desiree, Hannah didn’t want the Argentinian couple coming with her to New York as she was genuinely going to visit her family there. And to make things worse, she and Marianne had an alleged fight over Hannah and Alan’s sham marriage:
“I do remember Hannah saying that the girlfriend had an issue with her. And Hannah was like girl, I’m not trying to steal your man. This is an arrangement we all talked about beforehand.”
However, when Hannah went missing, Desiree began asking questions. In screenshots shared with the outlet, she prodded Amun, who she’d known since high school, as to why Hannah didn’t get on the connecting flight. In a series of texts, she wrote:
“We’re all doing our best to track down Hannah with no luck yet. What is the couples names (you know who is talking about. Aka fake husband) and did they make it to New York as well?
All seems very sus and you should have told her family she didn’t get on the flight.
Actually no you should’ve got off that flight when you realized she wasn’t on it.
Explain.”
In a lengthy message, Amin responded defensively, citing their breakup as a reason he didn’t intervene:
“It was a short connection, 20 minutes. I made it and everyone else did because we hustled to the gate. Me and her hadn’t talked since August. I had to reason to suspect anything strange. I’m visiting my sister here. She’s and adult and I’d heard she’d also possibly had plans in Cali. I have no reason to get off a plane and miss time on my own trip for something I thought was as simple as just missing one flight and catching the next available one. I shouldn’t have had to do anything because her and I split up 3-4 months ago and agreed to no contact. Her husband is sweet and just a lil guy and wouldn’t hurt a fly. He has nothing to do with any of this.
He also claimed Hannah was suffering with a drug addiction issue:
“To be honest, from what her friends and her mom have told me from the things she said to them leading up to this it’s very possible she decided to miss the flight for her own reasons and could very possibly be having some kind of a mental breakdown from lack of sleep, too much psychedelices.. or coke. I don’t know.
That is what her mom and close family are saying it could be but idk. That’s up to them to disclose this personal details. Have you noticed her acting or saying anything around you at work leading up to the flight? There are so many possible scenarios…”
Anita Lopez, an insider close to the Kobayashi family told the outlet Hannah was, indeed, struggling with a “heavy drug problem” and that it played a role in her split from Amun:
“Amun really didn’t like her drug habit. He was just disgusted by it.”
Desiree corroborated the claim, noting Hannah “likes her psychedelics,” but argued she only used them sparingly:
“There’s a difference between recreational use and abusing.”
Another reason for Hannah and Amun’s split apparently had to do with her getting back in contact with an old ex — which didn’t sit right with Amun. So they called things off, and Hannah was devastated. A second co-worker named Selena told the outlet:
“I know the breakup hurt her. She was down for sure. But nothing that raised red flags, at least for me.”
She also described Hannah as a reliable employee who rarely took time off:
“She’s definitely a social butterfly around here, definitely not shy, a free spirit. She has great energy. That’s what makes her so likable.”
A third co-worker named Nani said she also knew of Hannah’s immigration scam, and that the 31-year-old offered to involve her in a similar operation that would get her $30,000. But Nani declined because the risk was too great.
As of now, neither the Argentinian couple nor Amun have responded to requests for comment, but the latter is said to be back in Hawaii. After Hannah made contact with her family on Wednesday, they released the following statement:
“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe. 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. We want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported us during this difficult time. Your kindness and concern have meant the world to us.”
What a whirlwind several months… What do YOU think about all these new details, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments down below!
[Images via Los Angeles Police Department]
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