Tech billionaires slam ‘predator who used the allure of drugs to groom’ their teenage daughter Mint Butterfield who went missing in San Francisco for a week before being found in a white van
The billionaire parents of 16-year-old Mint Butterfield have lashed out at the “predator” who allegedly persuaded their daughter to disappear in San Francisco last week.
Butterfield, who was found by police Saturday evening, is the only daughter of two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield and Flickr founder Caterina Fake.
In an email to the press, Butterfield and Fake condemned 26-year-old Christopher “Kio” Dizefalo, who is accused of kidnapping their daughter.
The parents wrote, “We especially want to thank the seasoned law enforcement officers who understand the very real threat of predators who use the lure of drugs to groom teens.”
Mint, who uses these pronouns, is said to have battled addiction issues in the past.
Mint Butterfield, the 16-year-old child of billionaire tech CEO Stewart Butterfield, was found Saturday evening
Christopher “Kio” Dizefalo, seen here, was arrested and booked into the Marin County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
The 16-year-old disappeared from their mother’s home in affluent Bolinas on April 21, before Fake reported them missing the next day.
On Saturday evening, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office said they found Butterfield safe in the California city after being found with an adult friend of hers.
Detectives say they discovered Butterfield was associating with a Christopher “Kio” Dizefalo, 26, who was known to drive a white van. After locating the vehicle, officers found Butterfield inside.
In a statement, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office said Butterfield was found unharmed and that she voluntarily ran away from the home.
After Dizefalo was interviewed by detectives, he was arrested and booked into the Marin County Jail, with bail set at $50,000.
Police said earlier this week that Mint was “at risk” due to a previously reported suicide threat.
They said she left her mother’s house with a suitcase and left a note saying she had left the home. Police believed she was near the Tenderloin.
The troubled teen, who is said to have battled addiction issues in the past, attends a private boarding school in the Napa Valley.
The Tenderloin is the center of San Francisco’s fentanyl crisis and is known for poor conditions, homelessness, crime, drug trafficking and prostitution.
Mint’s father, Stewart Butterfield, is currently worth $1.6 billion. Slack was acquired by Salesforce in 2021 for $28 billion and Butterfield left the company in 2022.
Their mother is Caterina Fake, who founded the image service Flickr together with her then partner Butterfield. They sold the image hosting website to Yahoo in 2005.