Hundreds of thousands of people are reported missing each year. These factors determine whose cases take priority

By CNN Newsource

Published December 3, 2024 1:11 PM

By Amanda Musa, CNN

(CNN) — Dressed in a black sweatshirt and tie-dyed leggings, Hannah Kobayashi casually walked off her flight from Maui to Los Angeles International Airport on November 8. The 30-year-old had plans to fly to New York City the same day. But she did not board that plane. Then, she seemingly vanished.

Described by those who love her as an artistic and creative soul, the Hawaii native’s sudden disappearance has captivated the media as photos of her beaming smile and flowing locks of dark hair have blanketed television screens across the United States.

Adding to her family’s anguish, Kobayashi’s father took his own life a few days before Thanksgiving after he had traveled to Los Angeles to search for her, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office.

For nearly a month the Los Angeles Police Department, along with family, friends and volunteers, searched for Kobayashi. But this week, she was declared a voluntary missing person after police say she traveled to the US-Mexico border and crossed into Mexico on November 12.

“We reviewed video surveillance from US Customs and Border Protection which clearly shows Kobayashi crossing United States border on foot into Mexico,” Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Monday in a news conference. “She was alone, with her luggage, and appeared unharmed.”

Before leaving Maui, Kobayashi had expressed a desire to disconnect from modern technology, McDonnell added.

Many people who go missing leave of their own accord for personal reasons, officials say. Last month, a Wisconsin kayaker was reported missing and is now accused of faking his own drowning and fleeing the country, authorities say.

In 2023, over 563,000 people were reported missing in the United States, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Information Center. The largest subgroup of missing persons – 125,390 – includes those who may have left voluntarily, the center’s data shows.

Others include missing minors, kidnapping victims and disabled people who have wandered off, according to the FBI. Deciding how to proceed with searching for a missing person varies case to case, and sometimes race and news coverage play a role.

“People are allowed to come and go as they please,” said Derrica Wilson, co-founder of Black & Missing Foundation, a non-profit that brings awareness to missing persons of color.

However, Wilson – a former police officer – said law enforcement works for the community, and it is their responsibility to help loved ones search for a missing person, regardless of the situation surrounding their disappearance and despite race, gender and ZIP code.

Missing persons standard procedures

For every person that goes missing voluntarily, there are countless others who had no say in their disappearance, according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which has developed a missing persons policy for law enforcement agencies to abide by when working on a missing persons case.

Reporting a missing person: There is no waiting period for loved ones to report a person missing, either in person or over the phone. At this point, police consider how “critical” the situation is.

Who is a “missing” person: A person is often declared missing when their loved ones do not know their whereabouts and cannot explain why they can’t be found. Oftentimes the missing person’s unknown location is odd or unusual to their loved ones.

When someone is critically missing: An individual is considered “missing-critical” when they are believed to be the subject of foul play, a minor, mentally disabled, suicidal or the victim of an accident.

The preliminary investigation: Investigators focus on getting a description and photo of the person, determining if the person has any physical or emotional problems, and identifying the last individual who saw the person. They try to establish the “plans, habits, routines and personal interests of the subject including places frequented or locations of particular personal significance,” according to the policy. And they look out for “indications of missing personal belongings, particularly money and other valuables,” the policy says.

Each state handles missing persons reports differently, Wilson added, and each law enforcement agency within those states has its own process for investigating cases.

“There is no holistic approach when it comes to law enforcement response to missing person cases,” Wilson said. “In some states, law enforcement require families to wait 24 hours before reporting their loved ones missing.” Other states have laws prohibiting a wait period, she said.

Kobayashi fit the criteria for a missing person considering the unusual circumstances in which she disappeared and concern from her family and friends, according to Wilson.

“When you have a family that’s coming to you and they’re saying, ‘My loved one is missing, I have no idea where my loved one is. This is out of character. This is unusual,’ you want (law enforcement) to have empathy and sympathy. You want them to do their job,” Wilson told CNN Tuesday.

Meanwhile, officials say they now have reason to believe Kobayashi is safe.

“To date the investigation has not uncovered any evidence that Kobayashi is being trafficked or is the victim of foul play. She is also not a suspect in any criminal activity,” McDonnell said. “She has a right to her privacy, and we respect her choices but we also understand that the concern her loved ones feel for her.”

Kobayashi’s family said in a statement Tuesday they are grateful for the “urgency and dedication” from law enforcement and remain “hopeful” that she is safe and urged the public to keep searching for her.

“We want answers and a resolution that ensures Hannah’s safety and urge law enforcement and the public to stay focused on finding her and to avoid speculative conclusions,” the statement said.

The media and race play a role

In recent years, the families of missing people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals have blamed the news media for disproportionately covering cases of young, attractive missing White women, like 22-year-old travel blogger Gabby Petito, whose 2021 murder by her boyfriend Brian Laundrie took audiences by storm.

News coverage of a missing person can help locate them, Wilson notes. “It alerts the community that someone is missing, number one, and then number two, it provides pressure to law enforcement to dedicate more resources.”

While Kobayashi is not White, Wilson said, her attractiveness and public persona played a role in her case blowing up online.

Black families say they often struggle to get the police to take their missing person cases seriously. Officers are slow to investigate their loved one’s disappearance or immediately label them as a “runaway,” they say.

Wilson recalls a phone call she got from the mother of a young missing Black woman who watched the constant media coverage of Petito’s disappearance.

“The mother asked me, ‘Why is my daughter any different?’” Wilson said.

Wilson currently has nearly 6,000 cases of missing Black people in her database, most unsolved.

Many disappearances in the Black community stem from human trafficking, domestic violence and mental health incidents, Wilson previously told CNN.

It’s often an “uphill battle” to get the cases of missing Black people amplified and she wants the public to continue sounding the alarm, Wilson said.

“We want people to continue making these cases viral,” Wilson said. “We can’t allow this case to diminish our efforts that we have worked so hard for.”

CNN’s Michelle Watson, Caroll Alvarado, Artemis Moshtaghian, Karina Tsui and Nicquel Terry Ellis contributed to this report.

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