What happened to Yohanes Kidane? The 22-year-old recent college graduate and Netflix worker who went missing has been found and confirmed dead.
The rate at which people are going missing in the world is alarming.
While some fake their abduction for fame, a number of others are kidnapped and tortured leaving their families and loved ones traumatised.
On Monday, August 14, 2023, at 7:15 p.m., a 22-year-old man went missing after boarding an Uber in San Jose, California within the Bay Area.on Monday.
This young man has been identified as Yohanes Kidane, who works as a software engineer at Netflix, a job he got right after college.
Weeks later after desperate search for him, authoritives confirmed he has been found but dead.
Who was Yohanes Kidane?
Yohanes Kidane, 22, from New York, recently finished college and had just begun a job at Netflix in California.
He lived in an apartment located in downtown San Jose before he disappeared last week.
Kidane had reportedly just moved to the Bay Area, San Francisco, in July.
He was in his second week working at the streaming giant where he had the role of a software engineer.
Kidane, who graduated from Cornell University in May, is described as 5’8″, 150 pounds, and was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, a black hoodie, and black shoes.
When did Yohanes Kidane go missing?
Kidane was captured on security footage leaving his apartment around 7:15pm on August 14, before he stepped into a vehicle with an Uber sticker, according to his family.
His phone, wallet, and backpack were all found near the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Centre in San Francisco, according to a missing person poster shared by Kidane’s older brother, Yosief.
Kidane’s phone location reportedly also showed him at the Golden Gate Bridge for during most of Monday night.
The backpack was found the next day closer to the bridge and it contained two of his laptops and personal documents.
Kidane’s former college roommate said he also told a story about a suspicious Uber ride that took place just days 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 Farmer 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.”
Kidane had allegedly texted Farmer during that trip saying he “might be in trouble” and the driver told him to cancel the extra pay.
“I got a sense he’s taking me there for no good reason,” Kidane said.
When he got back to San Jose, Kidane said he was “Never going in Uber solo again in SF.”
Who are Yohanes Kidane’s parents?
Yohanes Kidane was born to mother, Mehret Hana Beyene. At the moment, his father’s name is not known.
His mom and dad immigrated to the United States from Eritrea.
Per TheSun, Yohanes’ parents have flown out to California in a bid to find their son.
His mom Mehret told KTVU: “He’s a good man who has a bright future, very loving to his family.”
Does Yohanes Kidane have any siblings?
The Cornell University graduate has two siblings. He has a brother named Yosief and sister called Sarah.
Yohanes Kidane and his siblings were born and raised in Rochester, New York.
Yohanes’ brother Yosief told NBC’s Dateline: “He was one of the best engineers out of his class at Cornell. Very smart, bright individual.” Adding that his younger sibling was “very excited” to be starting his job at Netflix.
Yosief told The Cornell Sun that during the call he “viscerally” felt his brother’s “killer confidence.”
Yosief revealed his sister Sara noticed that Yohanes location at changed to an area around the Golden Gate Bridge.
Yosief said surveillance footage captured Yohanes leaving the apartment building and getting in an Uber, thought to be a black Toyota Camry.
He said: “He said he was heading to San Francisco to maybe meet a friend.”
He said that Sara called him to see if he had spoken to Yohanes after noticing the location remained the same, per The Cornell Sun.
Yohanes’ cell phone and wallet were found by a passer-by on Tuesday before a cop discovered his backpack on Wednesday.
Yosief told the Fox affiliate KTVU there was $30 in Yohanes’ wallet and his ID cards were inside.
What has Yohanes Kidane’s family said?
Following his disappearance, Kidane’s brother revealed that “two young colleagues of his saw him and were able to talk to him,” before he went missing.
“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,” he added.
“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,” Yosief brother told cops.
“Thirty bucks in cash was in his wallet, ID cards, phone untouched.”
Kidane’s devastated mother has also made a public plea for her son’s safe return.
“We want to take him home. I need my son. I need my son,” Mehret Hana Beyene told KTVU.
“He’s a good man who has a bright future, very loving to his family.”
“Calling medical centers, homeless shelters, distributing posters; doing everything that we can to get my brother back. My best friend,” his brother added.
Who is Yohanes Kidane’s girlfriend?
As of the time of this article, Yohanes Kidane was assumed to be single and not in any relationship. He wasn’t married either. The Cornel graduate was much focused on his career.
Does Yohanes Kidane have a child?
Yohanes Kidane was not known to be a father yet. He was a young graduate who had just began working as a software engineer at Netflix. There were no reports about him have a son or a daughter.
Update: Netflix engineer Yohanes Kidane’s body has been found but authoritives confirmed he’s dead after vanishing last month.
Marin County Sheriff’s Office in a press release confirms they found a body floating in the water northeast of the Golden Gate Bridge on August 29.
The remains were identified as Kidane on August 31 and a cause of death was declared on September 1.
Forensics experts determined the cause of death to have been from blunt impact injuries and drowning.