Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - HAWAIIAN BEAUTY MISSING @ LAX, DUMPS “MODERN” LIFE, IMPLODES FAMILY, IN TIJUANA?

Episode Date: December 4, 2024

In a surprising development, Hannah Kobayashi's family learned she crossed into Mexico on November 12 at 12:13 p.m., after no communication since November 11 and no sign of her since that date. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) investigators reviewed surveillance footage at the U.S.-Mexico border, which clearly shows the 30-year-old crossing on foot into Mexico. The footage reveals Kobayashi crossing alone, carrying luggage, with no indication she was accompanied. Investigators determined she had checked her bag through to New York but later requested it be sent to her at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Surveillance video from November 11 shows Kobayashi retrieving her luggage from the baggage carousel. Using video and still images, LAPD created a timeline of Kobayashi's movements in Los Angeles from November 8 to November 11. After collecting her luggage on November 11, she traveled through the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to Union Station, where she used her passport and cash to purchase a bus ticket to the border. The following morning, she took a bus to San Ysidro, California, and crossed the border into Mexico via a pedestrian tunnel. The LAPD stated they would not release the surveillance footage of Kobayashi crossing the border due to privacy concerns. A department spokesperson explained that as a private citizen who has not committed a crime, Kobayashi is entitled to privacy. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell reiterated this, saying she "has a right to her privacy." Although Kobayashi's family has urged police to continue searching for her, the LAPD confirmed they are not investigating further. They stated Kobayashi has left the country voluntarily, is not suspected of a crime, and there is no evidence she is being trafficked. Joining Nancy Grace today: Gregory Morse – Partner at the law firm of King Morse, PLLC. Current CJA counsel (Southern District of Florida), Former West Palm Beach Public Defender’s Office. Author: “The Untested,” Website: kingmorselaw.com Dr. Jeff Kieliszewski – Forensic Psychologist, Author: “Darksides;” FB: forensicsandmediapsychologist/TikTok: Dr. Jeff Kieliszewski Steve Fischer  – Missing Persons Private Investigator, Search & Rescue Specialist, & Owner of Search Investigations; X: @SF_Investigates (helping in the search for Riley) Scott Eicher-   founding member of the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team (C.A.S.T); Historical Cellular Analysis Expert; Former FBI agent of 22 years; Former Police Officer and Homicide Detective with Norfolk Virginia Police Dept. having served 12 years; Currently with Precision Cellular Analysis handling Criminal, Defense and Civil case Alexis Tereszcuk - Crime Online Investigative Reporter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Did a Hawaiian beauty who goes missing at LAX dump modern life, imploding her family and ends up in Tijuana? As we go to air tonight, that video allegedly showing her in Tijuana is brought into question. Is that her? Has she been misidentified? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. As the family is aware, late yesterday after traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border, we reviewed video surveillance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which clearly shows Kobayashi

crossing the United States border on foot into Mexico. She was alone with her luggage and appeared unharmed. At this time, Kobayashi's case has been classified as a voluntary missing person. A voluntary missing person case. After all this, and we are learning at this hour that there is a motive for her alleged voluntary disappearance. And that motive is, and I want to get this wording exactly right, that she wanted to, quote, step away from modern connections. Couldn't she just unplug her cell phone? We all know where the off button is. How about that? Why do you have to lead us all on a merry wild goose chase, spending tens of thousands of dollars of resources to find her. If, in fact, that video purporting to be her 145 miles away from L.A. in Tijuana is correct, the calls for the release of that video are mounting at this hour. But you know what? Let's start at the beginning. Listen. Pictures show Hannah Kobayashi arriving in a black hoodie

with colorful sweatpants while wearing a pair of headphones as she walks through LAX. Her ex-boyfriend makes it to the connecting flight to JFK in New York, but Hannah does not. There isn't a lot of time between landing from Hawaii and catching the connecting flight to JFK, just over 60 minutes, and some believe she simply missed the connecting flight and will take the next available flight on Saturday. Her suitcase is on the plane to JFK. That is where it all started. Let's try to figure out, let's dissect what we know. And this, Greg Morse, wouldn't you agree with me? You're a high profile lawyer out of Palm Beach and author of The Untested on Amazon. Greg, before you can mount any case, before we can say tonight what we think happened, we have to analyze all the evidence.

Now, we're basing our analysis on what we've been told. And I, like the family and like a former FBI-er, I want to see that video too. The video that the LAPD is not releasing. Normally, I don't support spying on a private individual, but in this case, I think the family needs their minds and hearts at rest that she has really been spotted in Tijuana. That said,

Gregory Morse, you have to look at not only her frame of mind, but you have to look at her actions. She has a major life change that seems to be happening, whether it's related to this cult, whether it's related to her wanting to, quote unquote, disconnect from modern society, which, by the way, is generally since the beginning of time what cult leaders tell people. It doesn't matter what era we're in. It could be the 1800s. Cult leaders then gave some excuse as to why the people they're trying to get to follow them should, quote unquote, disconnect with regular society and why it's better to do that. And also, just on a point, there is no privacy at the border. The Constitution doesn't apply at the border. The government can do checks.

The surveillance video, you're out in the public. So they should really have that video made available to the public so people can look and the family can determine if it's credible. The family starts to get worried when they get odd texts from Hannah. Now, the reason I'm bringing these up is because it gives me an insight into her frame of mind. Because if this woman is in Mexico, doesn't speak Spanish, has nothing but her suitcase, no money, no anything in a bad frame of mind. I mean, I write in my book, don't be a victim because of the crime rates in Mexico. Just don't go there. So if an ordinary person can end up being a crime target in Mexico, what about a woman

on her own that doesn't know anybody, doesn't speak the language, and all she's got is a suitcase full of clothes? Uh-uh. What's happening to this woman if, in fact, that is her in Tijuana? Now, this is where the family really gets worried. Listen. Hannah Kobayashi's family is concerned about odd text messages from Hannah because the messages don't sound like her. The messages use terms like hun and babe. The messages also don't include any emojis, something everyone knows to expect from a text message

coming from Hannah Kobayashi. Kobayashi sends messages to a friend saying she doesn't feel safe and someone's trying to steal her identity and money. Deep hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds and had me on a mind F since Friday. I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my Did this woman simply step away from modern connectivity? Again, why not just turn your phone off? Is she in her right mind? Is that even her in Tijuana? Okay. Dr. Jeff Kaliszewski is joining me. Forensic psychologist and author of Dark Sides. You can find him on YouTube. Dr. Jeff Kaliszewski, forensic psychologist. Dr. Jeff, thank you for being with us.

Do you hear these texts? No wonder the families beside themselves claiming that her identity has been taken, her money has been hacked. Someone seems to be controlling her. Her texts don't sound like her. And we all have a clear pattern as to how we speak, how we text, how we think, how we act. We may not want to believe we're creatures of habit, but we are. So does that tell you that something is not right in her mindset? Right. We've talked about this on this program before, kind of the first step in investigating situations like this is that people have routines and people have patterns. And if people are doing things outside of their normal routines or behaviors that they normally exhibit, you start to question. A couple of things here, you know, some of these odd texts, like you'd mentioned, Nancy,

what was her frame of mind, particularly going through life change? But the other part, there seems to be, she's keeping some kind of secret. I don't know if it's a relationship, if it's a contact, but she's doing things outside of the ordinary and seems to be holding a secret. And does that lead to another person who's involved that we don't know about yet? A secret? Don't care. I don't care if she's got a secret. That is not relevant. What is relevant, Dr. Jeff, is, is she in her right mind? And even more so, why won't LAPD release that video? You just heard Gregory Morse as a veteran trial lawyer state,

there is no right of privacy, no U.S. constitutional right of privacy. Once you cross that border, joining me, Alexis Tereschuk, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Alexis, all along, LAPD has been saying it's a voluntary disappearance. She's chosen to leave, a voluntary disappearance. They knew this piece of the puzzle that we didn't know. Listen. While she did check her bag through to New York, she requested her bag be sent to her at LAX, where we have surveillance footage of her retrieving it from the baggage carousel on November 11th. LAPD Missing Persons Unit has conducted extensive witness interviews,

reviewed video surveillance, and collaborated with local and federal law enforcement agencies on this case. That from our friends at KITV Island News. Hey, Alexis, for those people that have not been in LAX, it's a madhouse, all right, especially when it's under construction on Terminal 3, I think. Oh, you have to walk down long underground tunnels at LAX that are constructed of cement. There's no phone reception down there. There's a really long walk. It's a very confusing airport to a lot of people that have been there many, many times. So many people understood, yeah, she got twisted around and missed her flight. But this piece of the puzzle, Alexis, the police knew that she, her bag had already gone on to JFK, but then somehow she had the wherewithal to demand it come back to her. And she actually had her bag rerouted back to her.

And police saw the video of her getting that bag off the baggage carousel. That's very probative. It is. And it's a decision she made. She contacted the airline. She said, I need my bags back here. You know, she was supposed to go on to New York. She did not. She missed the flight. And so she had been bringing the bags back to LA. She had not been at the airport this whole time. She wasn't camped out at the airport like that movie. She had left the airport. She'd gone to the Grove twice. She had apparently met with people to do tarot card readings because she was paying for that via her Venmo. She was taking public transportation. She was seen around town. She even sent her own aunt a picture of her at the Grove, but she goes back to LAX and she gets

her luggage. And that is where they have the video of her, which is different from her at the Grove, but she goes back to LAX and she gets her luggage. And that is where they have the video of her. So this is different from her arriving the first day in LAX. She gets off the plane. It was a one hour window. She did not get on that flight. Three days later, she gets her luggage back again. That's her originally between flights. And then when she got her bag off the carousel, Alexis, you're telling me she had on something different? She did. So she, in that picture she has on those really colorful pants, she doesn't have that on when she's back the next time. So she probably, she has clothes there. When she was in the garage, she could have bought new clothes, but it was a different, it's a different Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

To Scott Eicher joining me, founding member of the FBI Cellular Analysis Survey Team, also former police officer, homicide detective in Norfolk, currently with precision cellular analysis. Scott, thank you for being with us. See, I find this fact possibly the most probative, other than the shot of her at Union Station with her passport. But right here, have you ever tried to retrieve a bag that has been misdirected, much less at LAX. I mean, you can practically not do it at the Macon, Georgia international airport where there's one terminal, much less at LAX for Pete's sake. The bag was already gone. She had the wherewithal, the mindset, the understanding to retrieve the bag probably gets noticed that the bag had

made its way back. She comes back to the airport, gets the bag. Why is that probative? Because it shows me it's her decision not to go on to New York right there. That says it all. And LAPD kept saying, this is voluntary. This is voluntary. She chose for her bag not to go to New York. She chose to come back and get it and leave. But the family and their hurt and confusion didn't believe it. And I don't blame them. If somebody told me my husband went missing in LAX, there's no way if an angel flew down, angel Gabriel, let's go with him, and said, David has gone voluntarily missing. He wants to disconnect from modern connectivity.

I would say, BS, you're a liar. You can go straight to hell and out of heaven. I wouldn't believe it. That's where the family was at that point. They wouldn't believe it. I totally agree. I mean, you've got that pattern of constantly talking to family members, That's where the family was at that point. They wouldn't believe it. I totally agree. I mean, you've got that pattern of constantly talking to family members, being on social media, and then all of a sudden you're going to go and, you know, disconnect yourself in

the middle of a flight and jump, kind of jump off the train, so to speak. It just doesn't make sense in my mind. And there's a lot of things that even though I somewhat agree with the LAPD's assessment on voluntary because of the, you know, getting the bag back from JFK so she can now have clothes, you know, a lot of different things seem to be voluntary, her movement around LA. But then there's those texts, the weird texts where, you know, someone's stealing money. They're very concerning, Scott Eicher.

You know, Steve Fisher has been on this. He's a missing persons private investigator, search and rescue specialist and owner of search investigations. Steve, you've been working on this and investigating it yourself. What do you make of it? To me, that's the big tale that she got her bag back and left. It was planned. I mean, I know a lot about this case and there's a lot that the family has not disclosed. She was estranged from multiple members of her family. This was definitely planned. She recalled her bags. Listen, it's her in Mexico. I've worked with Greyhound to obtain verification of

her buying the ticket. I felt that this had gone on too long. And that's why the other day I announced that. And I said, the reason I was doing it, telling that she got on the 635 AM San Ysidro was because it was time for lapd to come out with the press conference and they finally did it that afternoon but there's more to there's a lot more to this story but that is it's her i've seen other angles of this uh shot and um you know for whatever reason the family doesn't want to accept it but i think it's important to remember that all this all these resources have been poured in and everything. Hannah did not request it.

She was already in Mexico by the time this started. And she's, you know, she did not request any of this. I understand why the family is searching for her. But there's also a lot that they've known for a while that they have not disclosed, such as the Greyhound, her being at the Greyhound station. See, she is there. I can try to figure out if you can see that Scott Fisher, is that her retrieving her bag in a different outfit or is that her buying her bus ticket? This is this is her. I worked with Greyhound.

This is Greyhound station at Union Station in Los Angeles. And she used her passport as I.D. When they asked her for her phone number, she said she no longer had a phone. It is determined that Hannah's phone last pinged around 4 p.m. Monday, November 11th at LAX with no new activity. The phone has not been found. The family obtained surveillance footage showing Hannah Kobayashi around the metro train station near Crypto.com Arena. In that video, she appears to be accompanied by someone. The family posts on social media that the video shows Hannah is not alone and, quote, does not appear to be in good condition. Straight back out to Steve Fisher joining us, missing persons private investigator,

search and rescue expert, and owner of searchinvestigations.org. Steve, let me understand. You're saying that you looked at the Greyhound bus photo that we were just showing and that you have determined she took the Metro. I mean, this sounds like a seasoned traveler. Hey guys, this is from Fox 11, a seasoned traveler that knows how to catch the Metro at LAX, take the metro, which is, you know, like a subway or a rapid transit all the way to Union Station. There, she buys a one way ticket, no plan to come back, one way ticket to San Ysidro. And when you get off at San Ysidro, you are directly on the path to go across the border. It's a tunnel, correct? Yes, there's steps away from it. Yeah. If you're going to San Ysidro, you're crossing

the border, you know, most likely. I mean, there's no other reason to go. Yeah. So she, I think it was very much planned. You know, I think the reason that people are so confused is we've gotten some misinformation, like what they just mentioned about the 11th about her them having surveillance of her getting off at crypto.com um not looking well you know they've refused to show that footage the family has to anybody including those of us that were searching and then we find out just hours later at 6 00 a.m on the 12th, she shows up at Union Station looking healthy, hair is washed, wearing clean clothes. She's got her suitcase with her. So, you know, we were told she was drugged and, you know, this person was manipulating her.

So I think there's, you know, a lot of misinformation going around. OK, I need you to be blunt, Steve Fisher. If you come on Crime Stories, we don't partake in niceties. When you say misinformation, just call it what it is. What are you talking about? What misinformation? Because if I saw my husband, my daughter, my son wandering around LA with a bag, showing up at Union Station, showing up at Crypto Arena, wandering through the Grove, sending me odd texts about how she's being controlled and someone's taking all our money. I would be really worried that someone was either controlling her that had some sort of a mental breakdown, that someone had given them drugs. But you're telling me it's misinformation.

Well, what's being put out, there's some misinformation. I think the family knows. Listen, she's in a fragile mental state for sure. However, the family knows a lot of things that they're not disclosing, and they're making it sound like this is a scenario where she's being trafficked and everything. That was the narrative being pushed. In fact, when i came out and said you know a couple weeks ago i said this is not the case this is a voluntary missing i got a voicemail from the family saying we want to control the narrative um you know do not put this information out there that's just

not the way these should run they should be these should be honest information that's put out there uh for those that are searching and if you're going to involve the public and that's not the case. She, for whatever reason, made a decision that she wanted to do her own thing and get away. And listen, do I think she needs to be found in her mental health check? Absolutely. But I don't think there should be this manhunt for her that the family is continuing with. She is estranged from several family members. Steve Fisher, what about the family saying that she was spotted with a male that they didn't recognize and that they're worried about that scenario? Yes, she was with a male. know who this male was but then when i talked to places around crypto.com arena they told me that

um the family members were coming in and showing that male social media and asking if they had seen him so they knew who he was just like lapd said they know who he is um again i think you know it was to you know keep people involved in the search um and just to clarify when i said fragile state of mind, what I mean is she's going through a lot. You're telling me something. Yeah, I'm going through a lot trying to find her, much less her family.

But wait a minute. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We were led to believe that an unknown man was kind of telling her, possibly even controlling her. Let me digest what you just said. Because now, aside from being upset and worried about this woman, now I'm getting angry. And I'll tell you why. I have worked so many missing people cases, so many rape cases, murder cases, molestation cases, horrible, horrible cases

that need attention. You're telling me that this misinformation, that's certainly putting perfume on a pig, isn't it? That the family went with the unknown male's picture and said, have you seen this guy? They know who the guy was that was with her in the picture? You should be angry. I'm angry. There's a lot of wasted time in this. Yes. Is that a yes?

Yes. They were showing his social media to places around town asking if they had seen him. LAPD basically alluded to that, how they knew who he was right away. The family has known a lot of this. So was all this an attempt to get to this guy? It's not her ex-boyfriend. He's long gone. So do we know who this guy is? Is he a boyfriend? Is he somebody she met online? Literally just somebody that she met in town. He wasn't the big bad guy. We were told that she was drugged, for certain was drugged, and he was controlling her.

That's just not true. Do you know, much less me and our staff, how many hours we have spent on the phone, pouring through social media, trying to investigate our contacts out in LA, beating the street, trying to find things out. And all along she was with some guy that she met, what in the grove of them and chumming around? What, did she use the shower and blow dryer? What? Yes. Basically, this guy, there's just somebody that she met.

He's not a player in this whole thing. You know, it's a different story than we thought. And I get it. Everybody's put this time into it. And that's why I was sitting on this information when I found out about Greyhound. I was like, I'm just going to go ahead and release it because to force LAPD's hand. I don't know why LAPD did not come out earlier than they did and say what was going on, but it was time for this to happen. And there's a reason that the whole family left town a week before this came down too. What do you mean by that? There's a reason the family left town? I think they knew.

Listen, they knew she had been to the Greyhound station and they knew she had left town. I'm not saying they knew that she went into Mexico because I think LAPD did hold that back, but they knew she was in town and that's when the aunt and everybody left town a week and a half ago, and the search stopped. Where is a Hawaiian beauty, Hannah Kobayashi, seemingly vanishing at LAX, the LA airport? That is not at all what happened. Based on what we are learning, have we all been dragged along on a merry wild goose chase? Take a listen to what Chief Jim McDonald, LAPD, said. My ask would be to anybody considering doing this, think about the people that you're leaving behind, your loved ones who are going to be worried sick about you, the number of people, including law enforcement and other partners who are going to be looking for you,

which then potentially takes them away from other work that is also critically important. So there's a lot other than somebody just deciding that they want to leave and disconnect. Consider those that are behind you and those that will be impacted by your actions. Is Chief McDonald referring specifically to Hannah Kobayashi's father? That's a reference at KITV, but listen to this. Ryan Kobayashi, the estranged father of Hannah Kobayashi, arrives in Los Angeles to join the search for his daughter. After 11 days of searching, Ryan Kobayashi is found dead around 4 a.m. near a parking structure at LAX. The Los Angeles medical examiner says the cause of death is multiple blunt force trauma injuries. The family

issues a statement expressing grief and asking for the public to focus on the search for Hannah Kobayashi. Alexis Tereschuk, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. What happened to her father, Ryan? So he came here. He was looking for his daughter for 11 days. He was having, he went to like large groups. He held up a sign. He went like knocking door to door down in Skid Row, Los Angeles, which is not a nice part of town, desperately looking for her. Then he goes to a parking deck near LAX and he jumped off the roof, fell to his death. And now that we know this is 12 days after she had already left the country. Okay. That just breaks my heart because she has Alexis disconnected from quote modern connectivity. So she may not have even known her father was there looking for her. And she was already on her merry way to Mexico

before her father committed suicide. Exactly. While he was here looking for her, she was already in Mexico and there's been no activity from her phone, I believe. And so she truly, she may not have heard, may not be on the news down there. She may not be, you know, she's young. She may not even be watching the news. And so she, she really may not even know this. And it seems like her family has, and did not let anybody know that she was out of town at that time or out of the country. Sorry. And Alexis, are you telling me she was estranged from her father? She was for sure. Yes. He said that. He said, I regret that we were so estranged and that we had such a bad relationship, but now that she's missing, I'm here now looking for her. So we've broken hearted thinking something bad has happened in Los Angeles, not out of the realm

of possibility. A lot of bad things happen. And so he came here looking for her. And then less than two weeks later, jumps off the roof of a building and kills himself. Dr. Jeff Kalaszewski, joining me, forensic psychologist. Dr. Jeff, I'm just trying to imagine what the dad went through being estranged for a period of time and then learning your daughter's missing. And he flies all the way, I believe from Hawaii to LA and starts a one man search team going all over the city, even the worst parts of the city, imagining the worst all this time about his daughter, thinking about all the time they had lost from being estranged and then realizing that he would never see her again. She's totally lost, probably dead and commit suicide. That's, that's a heartbreaking story.

I mean, all I can think about is my own father, you know, Dr. Jeff, I remember on Dancing with the Stars, the very first night I was about to be thrown off. I somehow managed to cling on till the bitter end. But as I was standing there in jeopardy, I looked across the dance floor and I saw one face. My dad. And he was so upset. I thought he was going to have a heart attack because he was upset for me. He thought I was going to be broken up, which I would not have been.

But he looked so upset. I can't imagine this father trying to make up for lost time, trying to find his daughter and coming to the realization that she was most likely dead and killing himself. You know, when the private investigator mentioned that there's some odd family dynamics and involvement in this case, you know, I start to wonder the estranged father, what information was he being provided by the family that sort of increased his despair and put him in a state of mind where he felt the only way out of this agony was to take his own life. What about it, Steve Fisher? You have personally investigated Hannah Kobayashi's disappearance.

You mentioned earlier, and now I'm following up on it, that she was estranged from several members of her family. Could you explain what you mean by that? Well, it's simply that. I mean, you know, she did not have a relationship with her father. There was tension with other family members. So, you know, I mean, this all kind of makes sense. Tension over what? Tension over what?

Well, I don't know the exact details. I didn't get into that, you know, what those dynamics were, like what the actual triggers were. However, it was evident. And, you know, I have talked to people that are close with her on the island, friends and whatnot. And, you know, this is not a secret. In fact, I heard her father telling people that he was using this as an opportunity to get back in her life. I actually suggested to the family I thought I didn't think it was a good idea for him to be a press point person could drive her further away. Now, of course, she's already in Mexico. We know now by the time this is happening. But, you know, there's there's there's a lot more to the story. I do believe there's going to be a lot more when it comes out. The LAPD say they have no plans to release the surveillance video footage showing Hannah Kobayashi crossing the U.S.-Mexico border due to privacy concerns. The public information

officer for the LAPD says they will not release the tape because Kobayashi is a private citizen and has not committed a crime. LAPD Chief Jim McConnell says Kobayashi has, quote, a right to her privacy. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Joining us, an all-star panel to make sense of what we are hearing now, and we're hearing an earful. I'm just trying to determine why Hannah Kobayashi would leave her family in the lurch. Let them think she was either dead or missing or being held captive and choose to head to Mexico with nothing but her suitcase. To Steve Fisher, missing persons private investigator at searchinvestigations.org, have you seen the Tijuana video or have you seen the video of her leaving San Ysidro and heading across the tunnel?

I've not seen that footage, no. I'm only aware of her getting on the Greyhound at Union Station. Okay. And if she had gotten off somewhere between here and there, there would be video of that at a bus station. There's definitely video of her. There's video at San Ysidro Station and absolutely customs. The Border Patrol has, you know, facial recognition cameras and everything as you're entering. And listen, there's been sightings of her down south of Tijuana as well. What about that, Scott Eicher, founding member, FBI Cellular Analysis Survey Team. Tell me about the face recognition that is used at the border.

And I know you have to show your passport when you enter our country, but when you are leaving, you also have to show it. Agreed. And that's part of the, you know, the border security that we do have. And it's important to be able to identify the people coming in and out. Sounds like pretty good information that she actually went into Mexico. And, you know, if she's by herself, then she's by herself. When we start taking all this together, it sure does sound like we were kind of led in the wrong direction. Man, you're not kidding. With a ring through our noses. You know, Steve Fisher, you keep alluding to more is going to come out. Well, how about right now? Can it come out right now? What are you talking about? No, I mean,

there is more to the story. It's not something it's not for me to discuss because I don't have 100 percent proof of it. So I wouldn't want to put something out there and be wrong. But listen, I'm confident there's more will come out. Okay. That's not really helping me, but let me go to, I'll give you a few moments to think about what you're saying to high profile lawyer joining us out of Palm beach, Gregory Morse, author of the untested on Amazon. Gregory, can I talk to you about potential criminal charges? Because as of right now, I don't see any. Now, we have been comparing this to, for instance, the disappearance of supermom Sherry Papini, who disappeared. Her husband didn't realize she was gone until the children were not home. You know, after school, when he got home, her cell phone was found on the side of the

road as if it had been yanked from her. Turns out she just took a powder and was shacked up with her ex-boyfriend. She went so far as to beat herself, starve herself, and even brand herself with hot curling iron to make it look as if she had been kidnapped. She blamed it on Hispanic women. Okay. She lied to police, right? That makes her different from Hannah Kobayashi. Then we've got the so-called runaway bride, Jennifer Wilbanks. That's a Georgia case. In that case, it was the night before a big society wedding and she gets kidnapped. She also blamed some Hispanic men in that case and claimed she had been abducted. She lied about it.

The last time I had eyes on her, she was cutting grass as part of community service. All right. Then we've got Carly Russell, beautiful girl out of, oh, look at her, Alabama. She fakes her disappearance and even goes so far as to claim she's trying to rescue a tot boy who was wandering along the side of a busy interstate. And then she goes missing. Well, turns out she was shacked up in a hotel ordering room service while we were desperately trying to find her. She since came clean, has apologized, has taken responsibility, is trying to make something good out of her life. But she lied. Hannah Kobayashi has not lied to anybody. She just left.

I disagree with you. This needs to be changed from a missing persons report to a searching for a criminal suspect. And if Hannah Kobayashi was smart, she would call my law firm and seek counsel right away. This girl's father is dead. He killed himself knowing anything about Okinawans, which I believe her father was. This is an honorable culture. It is foreseeable that he would take this so heavy. And if his daughter knew that and set this course in action that led to his death, I think there's a chance that the police can be searching for or looking into this for a murder to charge.

You are a prosecutor, Nancy. And if you know from maybe about a decade ago, I think it was Suffolk County, New York, that started charging murder to for DUI manslaughter. Most places that doesn't matter anymore because they're the same type of sentence usually. So this is something that is unique. But those texts that were sent claiming she lost her money and kidnapped, this directed a story. That's her lying. Very different than the story that you did on the guy who went to Uzbekistan. He didn't contact the police until recently. He should have watched her show because now he's made some statements that could get him charged with a crime. But initially he didn't. So Hannah Kobayashi is your typical,

it seems to me from what I've read. She doesn't have a real job. She's 30 years old. She's floundering in life and set on this course of motion, maybe taken advantage of by a cult. Sure, that is definitely seems like what this is. But her father is dead and she sent information. I have never heard, racking my memory, a worse distortion of the criminal code in my life. There is no way that this girl and I don't care if she's unemployed. I don't care if she's a deadbeat mooch in our family. I don't know if she is or not, but there is no way that she could have foreseen her father with him. She hasn't spoken to and a long period of time is going to fly to LA. She has to be a clairvoyant to figure out he's going to fly to LA, look for her and then jump off a parking deck roof. That's crazy talk. Okay. I don't know if you're just trying to get

a client. I don't think you're that hard up, but there's no way there's a murder to charge in this. No, no. Cut his mic right now because I'm not going to be responsible for disseminating falsities regarding law. You can put them up. I'd like to see him react to what I'm saying. But this woman is not going to be charged with murder too. She left on her own and you say she lied.

She lied. Yeah. She lied to her mother. If that's a crime, I bet I could prosecute you, Greg Moore. She never lied to your mother. BS. She did not lie to police. She's no Sherry Papini. She's no Jennifer Wilbanks. She's no Borgwart. That's the man you're talking about that left his wife and family for some is Becky woman. And she's no Carly Russell. No, it's not going to happen. Days of searching the streets of Los Angeles and passing out flyers have exhausted family and friends, but they still push forward in the search for Hannah Kobayashi.

But a shocking twist just might crack the case open. Hannah Kobayashi spotted crossing the Mexico border. At this hour, the family is asking LAPD and others to continue the search for Hannah Kobayashi. To Steve Fisher, who has been part of the investigation, local law enforcement is saying, no way, and they're dropping this like a hot potato. And they say that that absolutely is her in Tijuana case closed. Correct. And she should be flagged at immigration when she comes back across. And that's where they're going to talk to her and evaluate her. But for the family to be pushing this private search to continue, and that's really putting people in harm's way. Tijuana,

going through that border, is not a place to be going and looking and snooping around. You don't have any right, you know, you don't have your rights as an American citizen over there. It's going to get somebody hurt. What they need to do is they need to have a investigator that can find her quickly and a physician on call that can evaluate her and limit it to that. This should not be public anymore as far as I'm concerned. It's going to get somebody hurt and it's going to drive her further into isolation. Steve, it's my understanding that Hannah Kobayashi's aunt, Lori Pigeon, is saying that she is still concerned about Hannah's safety and that concern has not lessened since she discovered Hannah has crossed the border into Mexico. In fact, she's even more worried that she is now in a location with which she is not familiar.

I agree. Listen, it's not the safest place in the world. That's for sure. I mean, my brother happens to live down there. There is an expat community. However, she's doing this publicly now. I understand the part when they thought she was in Los Angeles, but now she's in a different country. I think it's got to be very sensitive. It needs to be done with qualified professionals and call off the public search for it.

It's like there's a bounty on her almost, you know, and there's people are crossing the border now going and looking for her. I just think it's a recipe for disaster. And it also- Well, I would look for my family too, even if they voluntarily disassociated because I would be so worried about them. But what about the private detective and retired FBI Tom Simon, who says he wants LAPD to release the customs and border protection video to make sure that's really her?

I don't know what to say besides it's her. I mean, I have seen, so listen, that's her. That's all I can say on it. But you know, when you say that about the family, the family is not here looking for it. They're asking others to do it, but they're in Hawaii and the ants in Palm Springs. They're not on the ground searching.

So bottom line, we've all been taken down a rabbit hole. Tens of thousands of dollars have been spent looking for a woman that wanted to unplug her cell phone. Okay, as of right now, I don't see a crime. I'm the last person that would say that, but I don't see a crime in her decision to take off. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.