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‘No evidence of crime’ uncovered in search for missing California Netflix engineer, say police
Yohanes Kidane, 22, who recently landed a job at Netflix in California, mysteriously vanished after getting into an Uber earlier this week.
The San Jose Police Department has claimed that there is no evidence of a crime in the disappearance of California Netflix software engineer Yohanes Kidane. The 22-year-old man who recently landed a job at Netflix in California mysteriously vanished after getting into an Uber earlier this week.
Yohanes’ family told KTVU that he was seen on security camera leaving his apartment building in downtown San Jose. He then boarded a vehicle with an Uber sticker.
In a series of posts on X, San Jose Police Media Relations claimed that the investigation has “uncovered no evidence to suggest that a crime has occurred.” “On 8/15/2023, at approximately 2:45 pm, Mr. Kidane was reported to the San Jose Police Department as a missing person. Patrol Officers took an initial report and investigated the circumstances of his disappearance,” the first tweet reads.
“Detectives from the Missing Persons Unit conducted further investigation into this matter. Detectives have learned that Mr. Kidane utilized a rideshare service and was driven from San Jose to San Francisco. Mr. Kidane was last seen in San Francisco,” the post says, adding, “SJPD Detectives are coordinating their investigation with the California Highway Patrol, the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, the United States Coast Guard, and the involved rideshare service to obtain a conclusive answer as to Mr. Kidane’s whereabouts.”
“The investigation has uncovered no evidence to suggest that a crime has occurred. San Jose Detectives have kept Mr. Kidane’s family advised of all pertinent developments in the case. The case will remain open until Mr. Kidane is located,” the post adds.
The disappearance of Yohanes Kidane
Yohanes had moved to the Bay Area in July. It was his second week at Netflix. For the majority of the day that he went missing, he was at the Golden Gate Bridge, his phone’s location revealed.
Yohanes’ cell phone, wallet and backpack were later discovered near the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center in San Francisco, a missing poster shared on Instagram by Yosief said. “Someone who was in San Rafael, who was on a commute, saw a phone and wallet sitting on this small grassy hill right between the Welcome Center and coffee shop,” Yohanes’ brother, Yosief, said.. Thirty bucks in cash was in his wallet, IDs cards, phone untouched.”
“We want to take him home. I need my son. I need my son,” Mehret Hana Beyene, Yohanes’ heartbroken mother, said. “He’s a good man who has a bright future, very loving to his family.”
An unsettling Uber ride
Austin Farmer, Yohanes’ former college roommate, said that Yohanes had told him about a suspicious Uber ride that took place before his disappearance. “The Uber driver insisted, if it was an actual Uber driver, that instead of taking him to the location that he needed to be, he’s like, ‘Oh, I’m going to take you to Oakland. It’s much safer there,'” Austin told Fox News. “And he just wouldn’t let Yohanes go where he needed to go. So they took him to downtown Oakland. I guess he eventually got back to his apartment or wherever he lives, but that was pretty suspicious.”
During the trip, Yohanes had texted Austin saying he “might be in trouble.” The driver had allegedly asked him to cancel the extra pay. “I got a sense he’s taking me there for no good reason,” Yohanes said. He later said he was “never going in Uber solo again in SF.”
