- Mint Butterfield, 16, was discovered after going missing for six days.
- Butterfield was found in a van belonging to a 26-year-old man.
- Butterfield’s parents cofounded Flickr, and their father later cofounded Slack.
A 26-year-old man was arrested after the child of two tech moguls was found in the back of his van.
Mint Butterfield, 16, was missing for six days before being discovered by police in San Francisco on Saturday.
Butterfield, who uses they/them pronouns, is the child of two tech founders. Their parents, Caterina Fake and Stewart Butterfield, cofounded Flickr in 2004, and Stewart Butterfield went on to cofound Slack.
Their disappearance resulted in an extensive search effort in Tenderloin, an area in San Francisco known for homelessness, crime, and drugs.
Police had warned that the teen’s safety was at risk due to a previous threat of suicide.
Butterfield was found safe in San Francisco on Saturday, in the back of a white van belonging to Christopher “Kio” Dizefalo, according to a press release issued by the Marin County Sheriff’s Office.
Dizefalo was described in the press release as an “adult friend” of Butterfield’s. He was arrested in connection to “multiple criminal violations,” and taken into custody at Marin County Jail, where his bail was set at $50,000, the press release said.
Police didn’t clarify what the charges were, though the press release added that the teen had run away from home “voluntarily.”
However, according to records obtained by The San Francisco Standard, Dizefalo is being held on suspicion of child abduction as well as a misdemeanor charge of “contributing to the delinquency of a minor.”
Adam Schermerhorn, a representative for Marin County Sheriff’s Office, previously told People there was no reason to believe “foul play” or “anything criminal” was related to Butterfield’s disappearance.
Speaking to the Standard after Dizefalo’s arrest, Schermerhorn said: “It’s based on statements that were made and some work that our detectives were able to uncover.”
“I don’t think there was foul play related to kidnapping or anything else, which is what some people were saying is what happened,” he added.
Marin County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Dizefalo does not currently have a lawyer listed.
In a joint statement sent to the press, Butterfield’s parents and stepdad, Jyri Engeström, thanked “family, friends, volunteers and strangers who called in tips and made this recovery possible,” according to the 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,” they added.
Butterfield’s parents, Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake, were married from 2001 until 2007, the New York Post reported.
They cofounded Flickr together in 2004, and went on to sell the company to Yahoo in 2005 for an estimated $30 million, the outlet said.
Stewart Butterfield cofounded Slack in 2013 with Cal Henderson. In December 2022, he left the company.
He’s worth an estimated $1.6 billion, according to Forbes.
