Tech Giant’s Son: Mint Butterfield’s Mysterious Disappearance Raises Concerns in Silicon Valley

Mint Butterfield, a 16-year-old teenager and the child of tech founders, has been reported missing since the weekend in Bolinas, California. The last sighting of Butterfield was on Sunday evening, and authorities have issued a missing juvenile alert in hopes of finding information that can help locate him. According to K. Walther, a deputy with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, Butterfield was seen around 10 p.m. on Sunday near his home.

The next morning, he was reported missing. The missing person’s report was filed by Caterina Fake, Butterfield’s mother and co-founder of Flickr. Stewart Butterfield, who co-founded Flickr with Fake in 2004 and later founded Slack in 2013, has not made a public statement about the situation yet. Authorities suspect that Butterfield may have taken a suitcase and traveled to San Francisco.

DailyMail.com reported that Butterfield was also sighted in Larkspur Landing, which is north of San Francisco, according to a social media post by a family friend. The Marin County Sheriff’s Office described Butterfield as being 5 feet tall with brown/reddish curly hair and pierced eyebrows. At the time of disappearance, he was wearing a black sweatshirt, flannel pajama pants, and black boots. Further details or updates about the situation are pending as the investigation continues.

Stewart Butterfield and Fake sold Flickr to Yahoo for an estimated $30 million in 2005 after their divorce in 2007 when Butterfield was born. Stewart Butterfield went on to co-found Slack in 2013 before leaving the company in December 2022 and now has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion according to Forbes.

Requests for comment from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake have not been immediately addressed.

In conclusion, Mint Butterfield’s disappearance has raised concerns among his family members and authorities alike due to his connection to popular tech platforms such as Slack and Flickr through his parents who founded them together.