29 April 2024 , 08:31
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Mint Butterfield, the 16-year-old child of the founders of Slack and Flickr, who went missing last week was found in the back of a white van unharmed on Sunday
The missing 16-year-old child of two Silicon Valley tech tycoons has been found alive in the back of a white van a week after vanishing in a crime-riddled neighbourhood.
Mint Butterfield ’s parents are Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield, who is estimated to be worth $1.6billion, and Flickr tycoon Caterina Fake, who is worth $25million. The only child of the two, who uses they/them pronouns, disappeared from their mother’s home in Bolinas, California, on April 21.
But the 16-year-old has been found, according to a press release from the Marin Country Sheriff’s Office. "On April 27th, at approximately 2330 hours, 16-year-old missing person, Mint Butterfield was located safe in San Francisco," it read.
During the investigation, officials learned Mint could be with a friend, Christopher "Kio" Dizefalo, a 26-year-old male. A white van associated with Dizefalo was located and San Francisco police approached the vehicle, finding Butterfield safe and uninjured inside.
Detectives from San Francisco confirmed that Butterfield ran away voluntarily. They were returned back to their family, while Dizefalo was interviewed by detectives. Police said that Dizefalo was arrested for "multiple crime violations" and his bail was set at $50,000.
Christopher ’Kio’ Dizefalo was arrested at the scene ( Image: ABC10)
It ended: "The Marin County Sheriff’s Office is thankful for the assistance of the San Francisco Police Department, the Oakland Police Department and the FBI for their continuous efforts in helping us locate Mint. We would like to also thank the other governmental and non-governmental agencies who reached out and offered additional resources. Additionally, we appreciate the help from the public in trying to locate Mint and providing tips that ultimately led to their safe return."
While they were missing, fears arose that Butterfield could have gone missing in the Tenderloin area of San Francisco, which is known for its high crime rates.
The neighbourhood has a large homeless population and is considered a hub for drug dealings, particularly fentanyl. A report from 2018 said the streets of Tenderloin are "overwhelmed with heroin needles and mounting piles of human waste."
Mint’s father co-founded the team-messaging platform Slack. He and Butterfield’s mother founded the image-sharing site Flickr together -which they sold to Yahoo in 2005. On her own, Fake is a successful entrepreneur and previous chairwoman of the selling site Etsy.