An unexpected plot twist has unraveled in Hannah Kobayashi’s disappearance, revealing a web of lies, a fake marriage, and tangled love affairs.
About a month after the 30-year-old Maui resident missed her flight from Los Angeles to New York, her family announced this week that she is safe and in touch with them.
Her friends have now revealed that her trip to New York was not just a simple vacation. They claimed she was accompanied by her new ‘green card’ husband, Argentina-native Alan Cacace.
An unexpected plot twist has emerged in the story of Hannah Kobayashi, who disappeared after missing her flight from Los Angeles to New York
Image credits: Hannah Midori Eve Kobayashi
Their goal was to stage a “romantic vacation” in New York to trick immigration officials into believing their marriage was real, according to the Daily Mail.
The two had traveled from her native Hawaiian island of Maui on the same flight to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and were meant to catch a connecting flight to New York.
Also on the same flight were Hannah’s ex-boyfriend, Amun Miranda, and his own ‘green card’ wife Marianne.
Furthermore, Marianne happens to be Alan’s actual girlfriend, thus completing the convoluted love square.
The green card scam was allegedly set in motion after Alan paid Hannah $15,000, promising another, similar amount in a similar tune once the paperwork was finalized.
It was revealed that the previously missing 30-year-old was involved in a green card marriage scheme with Argentina-native Alan Cacace
Image credits: Hawaii News Now
Image credits: FOX 11 Los Angeles
The plan was simple: pose for picture-perfect shots at iconic New York locations, like the Empire State Building, Central Park, on Broadway or by the Statue of Liberty to convince immigration authorities that their union was genuine.
“There was no secret,” Desiree, Hannah’s co-worker, told the Daily Mail. “She told us about her plans.”
“The Argentinian couple wanted to hop on the trip at the last minute because it presented an opportunity for photos of their ‘romantic vacation,’” she said.
While Hannah was happy to cross New York off her bucket list and visit her relatives, the idea of sharing a flight with her ex, Amun, and with Marianne—who previously accused her of trying to steal her man (Alan)—was far from thrilling.
“I do remember Hannah saying that the girlfriend had an issue with her,” Desiree said about Marianne. “And Hannah was like, girl, I’m not trying to steal your man. This is an arrangement we all talked about beforehand.”
Hannah’s colleagues from the Maui smoke shop, Up 'N Smoke, spoke about a green card scam she was involved in
Image credits: Yelp.com
Hannah and Amun were still dating when they shook hands on the agreement with the Argentinian couple. But when Amun found out that she had met an ex—a DJ she dated for years—they broke up.
Nevertheless, they still agreed to travel to New York and hold up their end of the bargain with the green card scam.
“I know the breakup hurt her,” another co-worker, Selena, told the British tabloid. “She was down for sure. But nothing that raised red flags, at least for me.”
Desiree recalled Hannah saying she would lend a day of her New York trip to the Argentinian couple for their plans.
“She said she’d only give them one day of her time. She wanted to continue on with her itinerary,” she said.
The plot thickened with Hannah's ex-boyfriend, Amun Miranda, and his 'green card' wife Marianne (who is also Alan's girlfriend) creating a complicated love square
Image credits: Reddit/hannahkobayashi
When Hannah had not boarded her flight from LAX to New York, friends reached out to Amun, questioning him about her whereabouts because they knew they had traveled to Los Angeles together.
“All seems very sus and you should have told her family she didn't get on the flight,” read a message Desiree sent Amun. “Actually no you should've got off that flight when you realized she wasn't on it.. Explain.”
The ex-boyfriend argued that Hannah was an adult and that there was no reason for him to miss his flight.
“I had no reason to suspect anything strange,” Amun replied back. “I’m visiting my sister here. She’s an adult and I’d heard she’d also possibly had plans in Cali.”
“I have no reason to get off a plane and miss time on my own trip for something I thought was as simple as just missing one flight and catching the next available one. I shouldn’t have had to do anything because her and I had split up 3-4 months ago and agreed to no contact,” he continued.
Amun dated Hannah for a couple of years and they broke up after he discovered that she had met an ex-boyfriend
Image credits: Waxahachie Police Department
Image credits: Tripadvisor.com
He also defended Alan, asserting that there was no reason to suspect him in connection with Hannah’s disappearance, which officials had classified as a “voluntarily missing” case on December 2 after surveillance footage showed her crossing the US border on foot into Mexico.
“Her husband is sweet and just a lil guy and wouldn't hurt a fly. He has nothing to do with any of this,” Amun said about Alan.
“To be honest, from what her friends and her mom have told me from the things she said to them leading up to this it's very possible she decided to miss the flight for her own reasons and could very possibly be having some kind of mental breakdown from lack of sleep, too much psychedelics… or coke,” he wrote.
Desiree confirmed to the outlet that her previously missing friend “likes her psychedelics” but insisted she only used them occasionally.
Anita Lopez, who is close to Amun’s family in Hawaii, claimed otherwise and said Hannah’s use of illicit substances was a “heavy” problem.
“Amun really didn’t like her drug habit,” Anita said. “He was just disgusted by it.”
Alan allegedly paid Hannah $15,000 for her role in the scam, promising a similar amount once the immigration paperwork was completed
Image credits: Larie Ingrum
On Wednesday, December 11, Hannah’s family released a statement saying they were “incredibly relieved and grateful” that Hannah was safe but did not disclose details about her location.
The police said they found out from the family’s attorney that they “found” her.
“We have not seen her and at this point we have no reason to compel her to see us,” Lt. Doug Oldfield, a member of the L.A. Police Department’s missing persons unit, told People.
“It’s a big news story so she may decide to come with a lawyer, but she is not obligated to speak to us,” he added. “We’ll see what happens next. We don't have a lot of details.”
When Hannah was still believed to be missing, her father Ryan Kobayashi traveled to LA to join the search for his daughter.
In a tragic turn of events, the father’s body was found in a parking lot about two weeks after his daughter disappeared. A medical examiner confirmed that the 58-year-old father died by suicide.
The family had even set up a GoFundMe page that raised over $47,000 to help find Hannah, but donors have since demanded a refund of their money.
Social media users found “lots of fraud” in the story of Hannah’s wild disappearance
