The Los Angeles Police Department won’t release the surveillance footage of once-missing Hawaii woman Hannah Kobayashi crossing the US-Mexico border due to privacy concerns.

In response to a request for comment on why they wouldn’t release the tape, the LAPD referred to an earlier statement from Police Chief Jim McDonnell when he said Kobayashi ‘has a right to her privacy.’

‘We respect her choices,’ he said at a Monday press conference, ‘but we also understand the concern loved ones feel for her; a simple message could reassure those she cares about.’ 

This came after it was revealed that Kobayashi was a ‘voluntary missing person’ and not a victim of a crime.

Investigators revealed footage from the border near Tijuana showed her alive between November 12 and 13, several days after she disappeared and about 11 days before her father took his own life. 

The US Border Patrol’s security camera video that was viewed by police on Sunday ‘clearly shows 30-year-old Hannah Kobayashi’ moving through a tunnel at the San Ysidro border crossing,’ the LAPD said on Monday.

Authorities released new details of their investigation – citing ‘witness interviews, reviewed video surveillance’ and collaboration with local law enforcement – on what happened to Kobayashi.

Kobayashi ‘knowingly departed’ LAX after checking her bag to her connecting flight to New York from Maui and went to Union Station on November 11 and used her passport to buy a bus ticket to the border.

The next morning, she took the bus to San Ysidro, California, before crossing the border into Mexico through a tunnel.

Hannah Kobayashi has been declared a ‘voluntary missing person’ after her family believed for weeks that she vanished

The LAPD reviewed footage that showed Kobayashi crossing into Mexico on foot through a San Ysidro border crossing tunnel (one such border entrance is pictured above). Police will not release the footage and again cited her privacy rights

The LAPD said there is no evidence of human trafficking or foul play and noted that Kobayashi seemed to want a less complicated life.

‘The investigators noted that before departing Maui, Kobayashi expressed a desire to step away from modern connectivity,’ the police department said in a statement.

‘The LAPD remains mindful of privacy concerns while ensuring all investigative actions are conducted within the bounds of legal and ethical standards,’ they added.

Authorities added they will not further their investigation of Kobayashi but will be notified if she returns to America and they encourage her to contact police or the American Embassy in Mexico to ‘confirm her well-being’.

According to Kobayashi’s family, she flew from her home in Maui on November 8 and was meant to arrive in New York City the next day. 

She was accompanied by her ex-boyfriend on the flight, who continued on to New York and had cooperated with police while she was a missing person.

Kobayashi missed the flight to New York and security camera footage captured her leaving the airport, carrying only a backpack. 

The following afternoon, she went into an art bookshop at popular shopping center The Grove in LA – ten miles away.

At a press conference Monday, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell urged Kobayashi to check in with her family to ‘reassure’ them

Kobayashi was seen at the Los Angeles International Airport on November 8, but she never got on a connecting flight to New York

On November 10, she was caught on video outside a Nike event near the shopping center and was believed to have returned to LAX, according to a family statement.

The next day, November 11, Kobayashi was spotted boarding an LAX Metro C line at Aviation/Century Station.

She got on board at 9:02pm, before transferring to a different train at the Rosa Parks Station.

Kobayashi was finally seen leaving the Metro Pico Station with an unidentified person at 10:03pm.

Around this time, family members had received a string of strange text messages from Kobayashi that seemed to suggest she was in trouble and someone had stolen her money.

In the messages, she claimed she had recently undergone a ‘spiritual awakening,’ after she was due to meet family in New York.

In another, she claimed: ‘Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f**k since Friday.’

A third text message to a friend said she was ‘tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds for someone I thought I love.’

Police believe Kobayashi yearned for a simpler life and disappeared into Mexico for that reason. Because of that, the LAPD has suspended their investigation in Mexico. However, if she returns to the US, law enforcement will be notified

Kobayashi’s father Ryan, 58, joined the search after the family believed she might have been kidnapped. After looking for her for 13 days, Ryan was found dead on November 25 after he jumped from a parking garage in Los Angeles

The family also noted that the young artist’s phone has been off since November 11 and her last pinned location was at the Los Angeles Airport.

On November 12, she was seen at the Greyhound bus terminal at Union Station in downtown LA around 6:30am.

According to police, she crossed the border into Mexico a few hours after that.

Kobayashi’s father Ryan, 58, joined the search after the family believed she might have been kidnapped.

After looking for her for 13 days, Ryan was found dead on November 25 after he jumped from a parking garage in Los Angeles.

Before his death, Ryan told DailyMail.com: ‘We will do everything we can until we have found her. We just need to get the word out there about her. She’s a wonderful person who brings joy to so many people.’

He also admitted he had been estranged from her ‘for a while.’

‘I’m very sorry for the family for all that they’ve been through,’ Police Chief McDonnell said during Monday’s news conference.

Even though Kobayashi’s loved ones now know she is alive and left voluntarily, they aren’t out of the woods yet.

Her family has shut down the Facebook page devoted to her search efforts as they claim they received death threats.

The Help Us Find Hannah page was removed from the social media site on Sunday, and Kobayashi’s sister, Sydni, and her mother, Brandi Yee, said they have been reporting the threats to the FBI.

There are also questions around the GoFundMe the family set up now that Kobayashi has been determined to not be a victim of foul play.

Many donors to the fundraiser, which raked in more than $47,000, are demanding refunds.

The fundraiser was set up on November 15 with a $50,000 goal. As of Tuesday, it was at 94 percent of the way there.

According to the GoFundMe, the money was to be used for food and hydration for search teams, transportation, communication devices and technology, a media campaign, ‘temporary accommodations for essential personnel’ and on-site support for the family.

On November 26, the family updated the fundraiser to add funeral costs for Kobayashi’s father to its scope.

A spokesman for GoFundMe confirmed that the fundraiser remains within its terms of service at this time.