Hannah Kobayashi has finally broken her silence on her father’s tragic death.
Six months ago, the 31-year-old shocked the nation after going missing during a stop in LA on a flight from Hawaii to New York. She vanished with little to no trace, leading several family members including her father Ryan Kobayashi to spearhead a search in LA. However soon after the search party kicked off, Ryan died by suicide after reportedly developing a theory that Hannah had been sex trafficked. Hannah’s aunt Larie Pidgeon told the New York Post at the time:
“He broke. He died of a broken heart. We were tirelessly searching, and Ryan was a big, giant teddy bear. He’s sensitive. Imagine looking in places like Skid Row, picturing his daughter being sex-trafficked, not getting sleep. He just broke.”
Related: Viral ‘Okay Baby’ TikTok Star’s Cause Of Death Revealed
However Hannah was NOT sex trafficked as she was found less than a month later in Mexico. She reportedly had no idea of the international search party seeking answers about her disappearance and her father’s death, and when she finally returned to the US, issued the following statement:
“At daybreak on December 15th, I crossed the border back into the United States. My focus now is on my healing, my peace and my creativity. I am deeply grateful to my family and everyone who has shown me kindness and compassion during this time. I was unaware of everything that was happening in the media while I was away, and I am still processing it all. I kindly ask for respect for myself, my family, and my loved ones as I navigate through this challenging time. Thank you for your understanding.”
She made no mention of her late father, whom she was reportedly estranged from, but that’s all changed now.
According to multiple outlets, Hannah took to Instagram earlier this month to address her father’s death in a video that has since been deleted. She told her followers life is “such a precious gift … especially after such loss and pain and suffering” before going on to impart a message:
“We should all learn to be kind to one another and cherish every single moment that we can because we are all connected.”
In an additional video, she explained how “grateful” she is for everyone who dedicated “time and energy” to looking for her:
“It means the world to me. Thank you so much… from the bottom of my heart.”
However, the reception hasn’t been entirely warm. Many have criticized Hannah in the wake of her father’s death. One commenter bashed her for reportedly not attending his funeral, and she fired back with an ominous message:
“You don’t know the whole story. My intention in this post is to acknowledge that I am going to speak about my experience and to stand up against all the hate that was cast upon me. I hope that in your darkest hours, you are shown compassion and love versus hate and judgment.”
As we noted, she and her father were reportedly estranged. Larie previously told DailyMail.com:
“He was estranged from his daughter. They didn’t have the best relationship and he wasn’t there for her growing up but (in the end) he was there for her when it mattered. He came here when it mattered. He was getting 30 minutes sleep a night, tossing and turning.”
That was all the information that was made public about their relationship. However, the comments sections of Hannah’s social media posts are flooded with piercing messages accusing her of indirectly causing her father’s death — and the response to her finally addressing it hasn’t been so warm, either:
“Hey did your dad’s ghost ever haunted you?”
“Great people honored your father at his celebration of life- Sad you were not there to honor a good father and man”
“If she wasn’t so secretive none of this would’ve happened unfortunately. ”
“Stop just stop it”
“your path.etic and your dad deserves better than you for his family…”
“This absolute psychopath.”
“A joke of a person.”
Yeesh.
What do YOU make of her videos, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments down below.
[Images via Hannah Kobayashi/Instagram & KCAL News/YouTube]
The post Hannah Kobayashi Shares Video About Loss & Cherishing Every Moment After Father Died By Suicide When She Went Missing appeared first on Perez Hilton.