Hannah Kobayashi Didn’t Plan Disappearance with ‘Fake Husband,’ Aunt Says (Exclusive)

Hannah Kobayashi’s aunt is denouncing a “deeply irresponsible and dangerously inaccurate” new article about her much-discussed voluntary disappearance last year.

The piece in question, published by The Daily Mail on Friday, June 6, reported that Kobayashi arranged a sham marriage to an Argentinian man named Alan Cacace “in a $15,000 deal meant to secure him a US green card.”

The headline of the piece claims Cacace “helped her plot” her missing persons case — which was fueled by her family’s vocal fears that she was in danger when Kobayashi, 31, failed to catch a connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York City after traveling from her home in Hawaii in early November.

“The claim that her ‘fake husband’ was involved in planning her disappearance is completely false, unsupported by any evidence, and incredibly damaging,” Kobayashi’s aunt Larie Pidgeon says in a statement to PEOPLE.

Though Pidgeon says Kobayashi has been living with her, she notes that “I am speaking only for myself … Because right now, no one else is standing up for a girl who went through something traumatic.”

(Pidgeon also says Kobayashi does not want to speak out herself: “She is going to tell her story in full when the time is right.” Kobayashi hasn’t responded to separate requests for comment from PEOPLE.)

After weeks of investigation, police announced in December that Kobayashi had merely decided to stay behind in California in November and then traveled by bus to Mexico. 

“She has a right to her privacy and we respect her choices, but we also understand the concern her loved ones feel for her,” L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell told reporters in early December.

Kobayashi returned to the U.S. shortly after that and has largely avoided the spotlight since then.

“She is not obligated to speak to us,” L.A. Police Lt. Doug Oldfield told PEOPLE at the time.

“I know people are desperate for answers—but while others, including members of our own extended family, have added fuel to the fire, I’ve chosen to stay quiet until now,” Pidgeon says now. “That silence is over.”

She adds: “Hannah didn’t vanish for attention, fun, or to abandon anyone. She was in real danger. The situation was far more complex and serious than most people realize—and one day, that truth will be fully known. … We’ve carried this quietly for long enough. When the time is right, the full truth will come out—and it will finally correct the reckless, painful lies being spread today.”

Referencing the widespread attention and controversy over Kobayashi’s case after her mother, father and sister went public with their concerns last fall, Pidgeon says, “What should’ve been a moment of relief when she was found safe has turned into cruelty.”

“Strangers—and even people we share blood with—have told us to die, accused us of staging everything, and tried to rewrite a story they were never truly part of,” she says.

Kobayashi’s relatives began to split apart amid the public attention on her last year. During the search for her in L.A., her dad, Ryan, also died by suicide. 

He previously spoke openly about wanting to reconnect with her following an estrangement, and Pidgeon has said he “died of a broken heart.”

In her new statement, Pidgeon adds: “We have been grieving his loss deeply. Ryan was loved. His passing was a tragic loss during an already devastating time. Blaming Hannah for it is not just false—it’s inhumane.”

Reports have swirled for months that Kobayashi was allegedly involved in some kind of marriage agreement for money, potentially related to helping secure someone else’s immigration status.

In a statement to PEOPLE in December, attorney Sara Azari, working with Kobayashi’s sister and mother, said “we want to stress that the family has not publicly announced any information regarding an alleged marriage because we did not have the facts or the necessary documents to verify the legitimacy of this information. … This is one of many leads we are actively investigating with the help of our attorney and investigative team.”

Lt. Oldfield, with L.A. police, later separately told PEOPLE that his department wasn’t looking into that possibility — describing it as a “rumor” and that, if it were accurate, “it would be out of our jurisdiction.”

Kobayashi has not been accused of a crime and has not publicly addressed claims of a secret marriage. 

Cacace could not immediately be reached for comment and The Daily Mail did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Kobayashi’s aunt’s criticisms.

Last month, Kobayashi shared a brief video on Instagram, thanking those who had come out to help look for her during her voluntary disappearance.

“Every day is such a gift, especially after such loss and pain and suffering,” she said then. “We should all learn to be kind to one another.”