Missing teen child of tech executives found safe in San Francisco, suspect in custody

A teenage child of two tech executives who was reported missing last Monday was found safe in San Francisco Saturday, authorities said.

Mint Butterfield, the 16-year-old child of Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield and Flickr founder Caterina Fake, was found safe around 11:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, the Marin County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Sunday. Mint's pronouns are they/them.

The sheriff's office said Mint had been associated with an "adult friend," identified as 26-year-old Christopher "Kio" Dizefalo of San Francisco. Police said a white van associated with Dizefalo was located in San Francisco, and he and Mint were found inside.

Mint was uninjured and, according to the news release, police confirmed she had run away from home voluntarily.

"After being interviewed by MCSO detectives, Dizefalo was arrested for multiple criminal violations and was booked in the Marin County Jail, where his bail was set at $50,000," police said in the news release. Mint was returned to the custody of their family.

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Mint was reported missing last week

The Marin County Sheriff's Office said in a news release last Thursday that Mint was reported missing by Fake on Monday.

Fake told police she last saw Mint around 10 p.m. Monday at their home in Bolinas, a coastal city roughly 30 miles from San Francisco. According to police, Fake realized the next morning that Mint was not at home, and discovered a note indicating Mint had left with a suitcase at some point late in the night or early in the morning.

The sheriff's office said it was unclear how Mint left the area, as they did not have access to a vehicle or phone. Police said Fake and Mint also share a home in San Francisco, and Fake indicated that Mint may have left for the Tenderloin District of San Francisco.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].