The 16-year-old child of Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield was found safe in San Francisco after going missing for a week, while a man she was with was held on abduction and other charges.
Mint Butterfield had left their home about an hour north of San Francisco voluntarily last Sunday and was reported missing the following morning. Authorities spent a week combing San Francisco, focusing efforts on the Tenderloin district, notorious for its drug use and homelessness.
They found Mint late Saturday in a white van with Christopher “Kio” Dizefalo, 26, whom police described as “an adult friend.” He was being held in Marin County on $50,000 bail, charged with abduction of a child, among an array of felonies, and one misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Marin County police said.
“Mint Butterfield has been safely located and reunited with family,” the San Francisco Police Department said on X. “Thank you to those who spread the message and assisted with the search.”
Stewart Butterfield co-founded Flickr in 2004 and sold it to Yahoo a year later for $30 million. Butterfield then founded the workplace messaging system Slack, selling it to Salesforce in July 2021 for $28 billion.
Butterfield along with Mint’s stepfather, tech founder Jyri Engeström, expressed their gratitude after the teen was found.
“A heartfelt thanks to all the family, friends, volunteers and strangers who called in tips and made this recovery possible,” they said in an email to the press obtained by The San Francisco Standard. “We especially want to thank the seasoned law enforcement officers who understand the very real threat of predators who use the allure of drugs to groom teenagers.”
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