Mint Butterfield, child of billionaire tech CEO, found alive, man arrested

Mint Butterfield, the 16-year-old child of Slack’s billionaire co-founder Stewart Butterfield, was found alive in San Francisco over the weekend, almost a week after they were first reported missing.

Now a man has been charged on suspicion of abducting the teen.

San Francisco police confirmed that Mint (who uses they/them pronouns) was found late Saturday evening in the city’s Tenderloin district. The teen was in a white van with 26-year-old Christopher “Kio” Dizefalo, who is described by the Marin County Sheriff’s Office as “an adult friend.”

According to The San Francisco Standard, Dizefalo is suspected of coaxing the minor into leaving home six days earlier.

In an email sent to several press outlets, Mint’s parents, Stewart Butterfield and Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake, along with their stepdad, Jyri Engeström, thanked police for bringing the child home safely.

“A heartfelt thanks to all the family, friends, volunteers and strangers who called in tips and made this recovery possible,” the family’s email says. “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.”

According to a previous press release issued by the Marin County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, April 25, Mint was described as a “voluntary missing person.”

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Fake reported the teen missing last Monday, after discovering a note indicating they had left their Bolinas, Calif., home.

A press release from the Sheriff’s Office said Mint was discovered “uninjured” and had “ran away from their home voluntarily.”

Dizefalo was arrested in connection with “multiple criminal violations” and taken into custody at Marin County Jail, where his bail was set at $50,000, the press release said.

In a statement sent to Business Insider from Adam Schermerhorn, a representative for Marin County Sheriff’s Office, Dizefalo was jailed on suspicion of child abduction, unlawful sexual intercourse and a misdemeanour charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Schermerhorn told The Standard he didn’t think there “was foul play related to kidnapping or anything else, which is what some people were saying is what happened.”

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