New twist in case of woman who vanished from airport as police investigate mysterious payments

Police are investigating payments made by missing woman Hannah Kobayashi after she missed her connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York.

Missing Maui woman Hannah travelled with her ex-boyfriend to LA on 8 November with the intention of getting a flight to New York with tickets they'd bought before they broke up.

Security camera footage at LAX spotted her leaving the plane but she did not make her connecting flight, further sightings confirmed her whereabouts on subsequent days and the last time she was seen was on 11 November leaving the Metro Pico Station with an unidentified person.

By this time she had already been declared missing by her family, who said they had received a series of odd text messages from Hannah and travelled out to LA to look for her in person.

Hannah's father Ryan landed in LA on 11 November to search for her, though tragically he was found dead in a car park on 24 November with the Los Angeles County medical examiner giving suicide as his cause of death.

Hannah Kobayashi was last seen on 11 November in Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Hannah's family have appealed for people to continue the search for the 31-year-old, and among the leads being investigated are some payments the woman made while she was in LA.

They said that a pair of payments made over Venmo on 9 November are under investigation.

One of them was made at 6:25pm to someone called Veronica Almendarez and was noted with the bow and arrow emoji, while another sum was paid to someone called Jonathan Taylor less than an hour later at 7:19pm, with the transaction having the reference 'Reading'.

Speaking to the US Sun, Hannah's aunt Larie Pidgeon said that the family and the police had been made aware of the Venmo transactions and it was now up to law enforcement.

She said: "We have been made aware and so have the LAPD. It's in their hands.

Hannah's aunt Larie Pidgeon said the police had been made aware of suspicious transactions. (Facebook)

"We are still focused on Downtown LA. Even though it's been 15 [days] we still have hope. We are also now encouraging people from across the nation to keep an eye in case she has been taken outside of California.

"We are looking at all possibilities, hotels, metros, bus, train stations."

In a statement released by the Kobayashi family, they urged people to keep searching for Hannah, saying they believed they 'can bring her home'.

They said: "The loss of Ryan has been a heartbreaking tragedy for all of us, and we are forever grateful for the compassion and strength you have shown.

"As we navigate the unimaginable grief, we are holding onto hope and turning to our community for help.

"The search for our beloved Hannah must continue with the same love and determination that Ryan would have wanted. We need your help, we need your strength. Our family needs you.

"The search for our dear Hannah must continue with unwavering hope and determination. She is still out there, and we believe that together, we can bring her home."