Jahnay Bryan has been missing in LA since October and no one’s talking about it

While the world was transfixed by Hannah Kobayashi, the Hawaiian woman who mysteriously disappeared from LAX in November, another woman has been missing for months in Los Angeles under similar circumstances, and so far, no one has talked much about it.

23-year-old Jahnay Bryan graduated from Cornell University last year and then returned home to live with her mother in Pennsylvania. At some point, Bryan wound up in Los Angeles, although those close to Bryan say when, why, or how she traveled to California is unclear. Bryan’s sister, Jahque Bryan-Gooden, told NBC News the last time she heard from her sister was via email before she graduated, and what Jahnay wrote gave no reason for her to be concerned.

However, in Pennsylvania, her sister said Jahnay gradually lost touch with friends and family. “She had basically stopped talking to all her friends,” Jahque said. NBC News says Jahnay’s mother did not respond to a request for comment.

The ex-boyfriend emails

However, Jahnay did reach out to her ex-boyfriend twice around that same time with two concerning emails, which her ex shared with Jahnay’s family after she was reported missing.

One email sent in August said, “Gone for the last few months. Back. Moving to a new city Monday. Bye.” And then, on Oct. 16 this year, he received another equally cryptic email from Jahnay, stating, “I think we should get married and I think we should work in industry.” The email added, “I was just in contact with the commissioner of the Department of Water Management in a city and it’s a brilliant idea.”

Jahnay’s sister noted the emails weren’t grammatically correct, which is unlike her sister, and that the Outlook activity indicated the last one her ex-boyfriend received, the last time anyone heard from Jahnay, was sent from the Pacific time zone.

Several sightings, but no updates

Jahnay was reported missing on Nov. 13, around the same time Hannah Kobayashi disappeared in LA, commanding massive media attention worldwide. (Kobayashi had since been found.)

Since then, the LAPD has issued a so-called Ebony Alert, a California program aimed at helping close racial divides in police response to missing Black citizens, when missing Black Californians had previously been considered runaways since the circumstances of their disappearance failed to meet the strict Amber Alert criteria, therefore limiting available public resources to help find the person. There have been several confirmed sightings on Oct. 16 in Los Angeles, the same day Jahnay sent the final unusual text to her boyfriend, and her family has focused their search on that area of the city.

“On October 16, 2024, around 9 a.m., Jahnay was last seen near the 2000 block of West 8th Street,” the LAPD said in a press release. “Jahnay has not been seen since, and her family is concerned for her wellness.” Jahnay’s sister, Jahque, told the Los Angeles Times another reported sighting said she may be living with an alleged pimp, contributing to her family’s concern that Jahnay was abducted and trafficked. Jahque also told NBC News, “That was her biggest fear — like, being a Black girl and getting trafficked, or someone kidnapping her, or her going missing. She had vividly shared to a friend, like, ‘If something ever happens to me, find me.’”

For now, the search continues, but Jahnay’s family has grown frustrated over the lack of progress. The Ebony Alert was issued two weeks after Jahnay was reported missing, and since then, her family has received few updates on the case. “I think the reality is that other cases — regardless of the people’s race, but because they are celebrities or they’re getting more media attention — are clearly taking precedence over my sister’s case,” Jahnay’s sister said.