A dad who flew from Hawaii to Los Angeles to find his missing daughter committed suicide near the airport

LOS ANGELES – The father of a Hawaii woman who flew to Los Angeles to look for her after she was reported missing has been found dead near Los Angeles International Airport.

The body of 58-year-old Ryan Kobayashi was found Sunday in a parking lot, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Los Angeles Police Department officers said they responded to reports of a body at 6100 Century Boulevard around 4 a.m. Sunday and found a person who appeared to have committed suicide.

Kobayashi was in Los Angeles searching for his daughter, 30-year-old Hannah Kobayashi, who was last seen at LAX on Nov. 8 and last contacted by phone with his family on Nov. 9, according to an LAPD press release.

Kobayashi’s family confirmed Ryan’s death in a statement Sunday, saying they had “survived a devastating tragedy.”

“After 13 days of tireless searching in Los Angeles, Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life,” the statement read. “This loss has immeasurably increased the family’s suffering.”

The family urged the public to “continue to focus on the search for her. Hannah IS still missing and is believed to be in immediate danger. It is very important that everyone remains vigilant as we try to locate Hannah.”

Kobayashi boarded a plane in Maui on Nov. 8 and flew to New York with a stopover at LAX, but never arrived in New York, her family told USA Today.

She landed at LAX but missed her next flight. Instead, she went to the Grove mall, where she attended a Nike event on Nov. 10, her family told USA Today. The next day, Kobayashi apparently returned to Los Angeles, but did not board the plane. Later that day, she sent what her family called “weird” text messages.

Los Angeles spokesman Charles Miller confirmed the department was investigating Kobayashi’s disappearance as an “active missing person case,” but declined to provide details of the investigation. No updates were available Monday morning.