‘Missing women’ cases in LA are going viral, even as the facts become more complicated

In the same week last month, two women were reported missing by their families to the Los Angeles Police Department. Their cases attracted attention and quickly made national headlines.

Volunteers helped search for the women, while their families crowdfunded to raise money online to support their search efforts.

Then shocking news came from the police: There was no evidence that their relatives had been kidnapped. Instead, they were considered “voluntarily missing” or not missing at all.

In both cases, police said they began their investigation the way they would a typical missing person case: determining whether the person is actually missing or simply doesn’t want to be found.

Initially, “Gossip Girl” actress Chanel Maya Banks was reported missing by her family on November 8th. Within days, Banks announced that she was safe in Texas, where she verified her identity with local authorities and gave a media interview. She was later removed from California’s missing persons registry.

At the same time, a cousin of Banks called news conferences and told the media that the police claim that Banks was in Texas was “fake news” and insisted that she was still missing. Banks later told the Times that she made the trip to distance herself from her family.

In the second case, 30-year-old Maui resident Hannah Kobayashi was reported missing by her family after she missed her connecting flight to New York at Los Angeles International Airport on November 8th. Kobayashi communicated with her family via text message until November 11, when her family said Kobayashi was seen leaving LAX and landed at the Pico subway station downtown with an unknown person.

The LAPD ultimately concluded that Kobayashi intentionally missed her flight and entered Mexico alone and of her own volition on November 12th. Officials said they would not transfer their investigation to Mexico but would be notified if she re-entered the country. She was still missing on Wednesday.

“To date, the investigation has produced no evidence that Kobayashi was a victim of human trafficking or a victim of a crime,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said during a conference Monday. “She is also not suspected of any criminal activity.”

Kobayashi’s family disputed the LAPD’s claim that she went missing voluntarily and intentionally missed her flight. They called on police and the public to continue their search.

“The ‘narrative’ about Hannah being spread online is not the Hannah we know and love,” a family statement said. “We do not believe that Hannah in her right mind would intentionally inflict this unimaginable pain on her loved ones.”

LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton, who oversaw both Banks and Kobayashi’s investigations, told The Times: When someone is reported missing, investigators first try to determine whether the person is actually missing or has voluntarily broken off contact.

If someone is in danger, has been the victim of violence by identified suspects or is a child or senior with impaired functioning, their cases can be treated with greater urgency, Hamilton said.

“A mature adult with no mental health, substance abuse or other complicating issues is not considered a vulnerable missing person,” he added.

It is “not uncommon” for an adult to be reported missing by family members, only to later discover that they have voluntarily severed contact with friends, family or acquaintances, Hamilton said.

In such cases, he said, investigators verify the person’s identity and get reassurance that everything is OK. They then deliver that message to the original person who reported them missing.

In Banks’ case, he said, she explained to authorities why she traveled to Texas and made it “crystal clear” that she did not want to continue to be contacted by family members or law enforcement.

“I think part of the problem with both of these cases is that there was a lot of information that wasn’t checked or verified,” Hamilton said. “We don’t know who published it and that could have a detrimental effect on an investigation.”

For example, if someone posted online that a woman was clearly a victim of human trafficking and she was later seen with a man in public, others might assume he was the one who trafficked her, he explained.

“You could take action against this man in public spaces. “Isn’t that pretty dangerous?” he said.

In Kobayashi’s case, Hamilton pushed back against suggestions from relatives that the case was not a priority, saying the department had expended “an excessive amount of resources” because it feared she was in danger.

“They say she is mentally healthy and has no mental health problems, so she can make her own decisions,” Kobayashi’s sister Sydni said in an interview with the Times last week. “It is not considered high risk by the LAPD.”

McDonnell said at a news conference Monday that Kobayashi was recorded on video surveillance using cash and her passport to buy a bus ticket to Union Station. She then reached the San Ysidro border crossing, where she entered Mexico alone and with her luggage.

“You have someone who moves independently for four days without force,” Hamilton said. “One of the main problems with identifying a person who is voluntarily missing is that people can be living their lives and if we observe in various ways that they are not under duress, coercion or physical violence, we can do that “Don’t just continue investigations.” People willfully go beyond that.”

When it comes to missing person cases, Hamilton advises: If you see someone who you believe has been reported missing, notify the LAPD or appropriate jurisdiction so investigators can complete the investigation, speak with the person reported missing and check can what happened.

“What we don’t want is for people to take unverified information and act on it and have a tragedy.”