Woman is charged with kidnapping Slack billionaire heiress Mint Butterfield along with 26-year-old tattooed suspect – as her parents praise cops for finding her alive

A woman has been charged in the kidnapping of Slack billionaire heiress Mint Butterfield, along with a 26-year-old tattooed suspect.

On Saturday evening, 16-year-old Mint, who uses those pronouns, was found by police in the back of a white van after disappearing in San Francisco for more than a week.

Sarah Atkins was charged with kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. According to a criminal complaint, Christopher “Kio” Dizefalo was charged with several charges, including child kidnapping.

Mint is the only daughter of two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield and Flickr founder Caterina Fake.

After Mint was found, Butterfield and Fake both praised police for locating their daughter, calling Dizefalo a “predator.”

Christopher “Kio” Dizefalo, seen here, was at Mint when they were located. He was charged with several charges, including child kidnapping. Sarah Atkins was charged with kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor

On Wednesday, Dizefalo appeared in Marin County Superior Court as a judge ordered him to stay away from Mint. He is expected back in court on Friday.

Atkins did not appear in court and has not been in custody since Wednesday. A warrant has been issued for her arrest, Deputy District Attorney Daniel Madow told the court. Atkins, who was reportedly in his late 20s, was not present when Mint was found, Marin Sheriff Sgt. Adam Schermerhorn told it The San Francisco Standard.

Mint disappeared from their mother’s home in affluent Bolinas on April 21, before Fake reported them missing the next day.

Detectives said they discovered Mint was hanging out with Dizefalo, who was known to drive a white van. After locating the vehicle, officers found Mint inside.

Authorities say Dizefalo and Mint had a ‘quasi-relationship’ New York Post.

In a statement, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office said Mint was found unharmed and that they had voluntarily run 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. It is also reported that Mint has battled addiction issues in the past.

They said Mint left their mother’s house with a suitcase and left a note indicating they had left the home. Police believed they were near the Tenderloin.

Mint’s father, Stewart Butterfield, is the co-founder of Slack. It will be featured at the 2019 WIRED25 Summit

Their mother, Caterina Fake, is the founder of Flickr. She is pictured at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women conference in Dana Point, California in October 2018

The Tenderloin is the center of San Francisco’s fentanyl crisis and is known for poor conditions, homelessness, crime, drug trafficking and prostitution.

In an email to the press, Butterfield and Fake condemned Dizefalo, a parking attendant.

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’s father 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, together with her then partner Butterfield, started the image service Flickr. They sold the image hosting website to Yahoo in 2005.

Since then, Fake has served on the boards of several startups and is known as an angel investor in the tech world.

Fake and Butterfield married in 2001 and remained together until 2007, when Mint was born.

Mint’s parents married in 2001 and remained together until they were born in 2007. Butterfield is seen with his now wife Jen Rubio (left) and Fake is seen with her now husband Jyri Engestrom (right)

In 2021, Butterfield purchased a $31.7 million mansion in Aspen, Colorado. The residence extends over a five-acre estate overlooking the Castle Creek Valley

Stewart Butterfield’s $19 million San Francisco home, located in upscale Presidio Heights

Butterfield has since married Jen Rubio, co-founder of Away, an American luggage and travel accessories brand, and the couple have two young children together.

Fake is now dating Jaiku co-founder Jyri Engestrom, and the couple share three children together.

In 2021, Butterfield purchased a $31.7 million mansion in Aspen, Colorado. The residence extends over a five-acre estate overlooking the Castle Creek Valley.

The property features a lavish home gym, home theater, games room, 500-bottle wine cellar, tasting room, six en-suite bedrooms and a three-car garage.

Butterfield also owns a $19 million home in San Francisco, which has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms and is located in the upscale Presidio Heights neighborhood.