Over $70K raised for missing Netflix engineer Yohanes Kidane who vanished after stepping into a rideshare
More than $70,000 has been raised to bolster the search for a missing New York engineer who mysteriously disappeared after taking a rideshare to San Francisco — just weeks after beginning a new job at Netflix.
Yohanes Kidane, 22 — who was last seen the night of Aug. 14 stepping into an Uber — remained missing Tuesday, as loved ones pleaded on a GoFundMe page for more resources to find him.
“A search effort by his family, friends, and peers is underway,” says the GoFundMe campaign, which has raised $74,000 as of Tuesday morning for travel, private investigators, attorneys and other resources for the search.
“We cannot express enough gratitude for any help you can provide.”
Kidane disappeared days after he expressed hesitancy about taking rideshares alone after having a “strange encounter” with an Uber driver.
While trying to get home the Saturday before he went missing, Kidane had an unusual and uncomfortable ride with an Uber driver who insisted on taking a less direct route to his San Jose apartment.
“The driver was insistent on taking him through Oakland, and Yohanes, suspicious of his intentions, was finally able to cancel his ride after crossing the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge,” the GoFundMe said.
“After this ordeal, he expressed his hesitancy in ridesharing alone,” according to the page.
Days after voicing those concerns about ridesharing, Kidane was captured on security cameras leaving his downtown San Jose apartment and entering a vehicle that had an Uber sticker on display.
“Two young colleagues of his saw him and were able to talk to him,” Kidane’s brother Yosief told KTVU. “He said he was heading to San Francisco to maybe meet a friend. The last footage I’ve seen of him was leaving his apartment building and getting into a black Toyota Camry.”
Kidane had only moved to the Bay Area in July from Webster, New York, and was in his second week of work at the streaming giant, where he was recently hired as a software engineer.
Kidane’s phone’s location showed he was at the Golden Gate Bridge the majority of the night of Monday, Aug. 14. But by the next morning, his personal belongings were found near the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center in San Francisco, according to the fundraiser and a missing persons poster shared by his brother.
Kidane, who graduated from Cornell University in May, is a black man who stands 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs approximately 150 pounds, and was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, a black hoodie and black shoes.
“The investigation has uncovered no evidence to suggest that a crime has occurred,” the San Jose police said. “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.”
Anyone with information that could be used to help find Yohanes Kidane is asked to contact the San Jose Police Department at (408) 277-8900 and can reference case number 23-277-0531.
