Yohanes Kildane had made it. After graduating from Cornell University in May, he was hired as an engineer by Netflix. The 22-year-old New Yorker flew across the country to California’s Bay Area to start his new job in July.
But the dream may have turned to ashes already. His family last heard from him on Aug. 14, when surveillance video showed him entering an Uber, according to KTVU-TV.
Kildane never returned to his San Jose residence, leading the family to contact the police after they saw that the tracker on his phone indicated it remained near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Here’s an update poster on Yohanes Kidane. #missing pic.twitter.com/m7y7gP87Ut
— Dan Brekke (@danbrekke) August 17, 2023
“Two young colleagues of his saw him and were able to talk to him,” Yosief Kildane, the missing engineer’s brother, told the outlet. “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.”
On Tuesday morning, a commuter made a find in a city north of San Francisco, on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge.
“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 Kildane said. “Thirty bucks in cash was in his wallet, IDs cards, phone untouched.”
On Wednesday, the missing engineer’s backpack was found.
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“Later his backpack was found near the Golden Gate Bridge and had two of his laptops and personal documents seemingly untouched,” Yosief Kildane said, according to KTVU.
Austin Farmer, Yohanes Kidane’s roommate at Cornell, said the Netflix employee had reported a strange experience with Uber days before his disappearance, according to Fox News.
“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,’” Farmer said. “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.”
The now-missing man texted that he “might be in trouble” and later wrote, “Never going in Uber solo again in SF,” Farmer said.
Family members have created a GoFundMe page to raise money for a search. As of early Monday afternoon, it had taken in more than $58,000 toward a goal of $100,000.
“A search effort by his family, friends, and peers is underway. This fundraiser is for covering expenses for travel, private investigators, attorneys, and other resources for the search,” the fundraiser said.
In addition, Yosief Kildane and his dad went to San Francisco to do what they could, according to KTVU.
“Calling medical centers, homeless shelters, distributing posters; doing everything that we can to get my brother back. My best friend,” he said.
