Found Deceased CA - Yohanes Kidane, 22, Netflix software engineer, entered Uber in San Jose, pers items found near Golden Gate Bridge, 15 Aug 2023

[SimplyCass]

July 26 - moved to San Jose
August 7 - started job at Netflix
August 12 - mysterious Uber ride, driver drove Yohanes to Oakland instead of to his apt
August 13 - brother reports calling and chatting with Yoahnes for an hour
August 14, 7:15 pm - took an Uber from apt
August 15, 4-5 am - sister notices no movement from Yohanes's phone, calls him
August 15, 8:30 am - Phone location moves; passerby answers phone call, had found wallet/phone near Welcome Center
August 15, 2:45 pm - missing report filed
August 16, afternoon - police find backpack

Timeline from these sources:

UPDATED: Missing Grad Yohanes Kidane ’23 Last Seen in San Francisco, California - The Cornell Daily Sun

Yohanes Kidane ’23 has been missing since Monday, Aug. 14, after traveling by a rideshare service from San Jose, California to San Francisco, California — where he was last seen.

cornellsun.com

Missing Netflix employee was last seen in SF, police say

(KRON) — The San Jose Police Department provided an update Monday on a Netflix employee who has been missing for nearly a week. Police say there is no evidence that a crime was committed agai…

www.kron4.com

San Jose police searching for missing Netflix employee, recent Cornell grad just moved to Bay Area

(BCN) — San Jose police are looking for a missing 22-year-old man who recently graduated from Cornell University and relocated to the Bay Area after being hired by Netflix to work as a softwa…

www.kron4.com

Family says son has disappeared just weeks after starting job at Netflix

A 22-year-old who recently moved to the Bay Area for a new job has not been seen since getting into a car with an Uber sticker.

www.ktvu.com

The most intriguing thing to me is the phone. His phone was online/active for more than 12 hours after he left the apt?

(I had some links to battery tests here, but removed them)

Actually the 'standby time' for any recent iPhone can be quite a lot. Testing done by people have substantial screen-on time, while Yohanes's phone would have been screen-off for at least 10 hours.

 

[SophieRose]

July 26 - moved to San Jose
August 7 - started job at Netflix
August 12 - mysterious Uber ride, driver drove Yohanes to Oakland instead of to his apt
August 13 - brother reports calling and chatting with Yoahnes for an hour
August 14, 7:15 pm - took an Uber from apt
August 15, 4-5 am - sister notices no movement from Yohanes's phone, calls him
August 15, 8:30 am - Phone location moves; passerby answers phone call, had found wallet/phone near Welcome Center
August 15, 2:45 pm - missing report filed
August 16, afternoon - police find backpack

Timeline from these sources:

UPDATED: Missing Grad Yohanes Kidane ’23 Last Seen in San Francisco, California - The Cornell Daily Sun

Yohanes Kidane ’23 has been missing since Monday, Aug. 14, after traveling by a rideshare service from San Jose, California to San Francisco, California — where he was last seen.

cornellsun.com

Missing Netflix employee was last seen in SF, police say

(KRON) — The San Jose Police Department provided an update Monday on a Netflix employee who has been missing for nearly a week. Police say there is no evidence that a crime was committed agai…

www.kron4.com

San Jose police searching for missing Netflix employee, recent Cornell grad just moved to Bay Area

(BCN) — San Jose police are looking for a missing 22-year-old man who recently graduated from Cornell University and relocated to the Bay Area after being hired by Netflix to work as a softwa…

www.kron4.com

Family says son has disappeared just weeks after starting job at Netflix

A 22-year-old who recently moved to the Bay Area for a new job has not been seen since getting into a car with an Uber sticker.

www.ktvu.com

The most intriguing thing to me is the phone. His phone was online/active for more than 12 hours after he left the apt?

(I had some links to battery tests here, but removed them)

Actually the 'standby time' for any recent iPhone can be quite a lot. Testing done by people have substantial screen-on time, while Yohanes's phone would have been screen-off for at least 10 hours.

Here's more to add to timeline.

Webster native goes missing in California; Brother speaks to Dateline

SAN JOSE, C.A. — A Webster native working as a software engineer at Netflix in California has been missing for more than a week. Yohanes Kidane was last seen on Monday, Aug. 14 in San Jose where he was using a ride share service to get to San Francisco. His brother, Yosief Kidane, spoke with […]

www.whec.com

Yosief told Dateline that on Monday August 14, their sister was checking Yohanes’s location and noticed it changed. “Somewhere around 8 p.m., she saw his phone location at the Golden Gate Bridge, which wasn’t anything out of the ordinary,” Yosief said. “Figured he could have been meeting a friend or, like, checking it out with maybe work people or something.”

 

[wyome]

He was only at his new job one week before his disappearance. His brother made a comment that he said he was impressed by how capable his fellow workers are.

Stress at Ivy league schools can do some major damage to your confidence. These are highly-driven individuals and they are knocked down a peg in classes, and may feel overwhelmed in a first job as they see themselves as "less". I hope I'm wrong, but believe this may be self-harm.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

He was only at his new job one week before his disappearance. His brother made a comment that he said he was impressed by how capable his fellow workers are.

Stress at Ivy league schools can do some major damage to your confidence. These are highly-driven individuals and they are knocked down a peg in classes, and may feel overwhelmed in a first job as they see themselves as "less". I hope I'm wrong, but believe this may be self-harm.

I went to an Ivy League school and unfortunately you are correct about current/former students struggling with mental health. It was 'normal' for 2-3 students to die by suicide each semester, and unfortunately I know of people who died by suicide shortly after graduating and entering the workforce. I struggle myself with feeling like I don't 'measure up' to my (now former) peers.

 

[wyome]

I went to an Ivy League school and unfortunately you are correct about current/former students struggling with mental health. It was 'normal' for 2-3 students to die by suicide each semester, and unfortunately I know of people who died by suicide shortly after graduating and entering the workforce. I struggle myself with feeling like I don't 'measure up' to my (now former) peers.

My daughter went to one and there were something like 8 suicides in the first few years of her undergrad. And as you know, these schools are small. My daughter has shared that it did damage to her self-esteem. I regret not being more supportive. At the time I was almost
annoyed that she wasn't more grateful for being at a top school and all the doors it opened.

 

[SophieRose]

Safety nets were put in during 2013.

A student's suicide jump - are Cornell and Ithaca responsible?

After gorge suicide jump, Cornell installs nets under bridges

www.syracuse.com

Bridges over gorges near Cornell have been a conspicuous launching area for suicide leaps. There are seven bridges over two gorges on or near the Cornell campus.

Between 1990 and 2010, 29 people attempted suicide by jumping from bridges into Ithaca's gorges. Twenty-seven were successful, 15 of the 27 were Cornell students, according to court documents. Ginsburg's complaint refers to Cornell's campus as "an iconic spot for ending one's life."

 

[SophieRose]

A good webcam on the bridge at this site, can see what it looked like around 8 pm.

Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District | Golden Gate

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District is a special district of the State of California which operates and maintains the Golden Gate Bridge and two unified public transit systems - Golden Gate Transit and Golden Gate Ferry.

www.goldengate.org

 

[tarabull]

Bumping...

Picture of safety net from SF Standard

Golden Gate Bridge's Half-Built Suicide Barrier Already Working

Suicide jumps are way down, according to a report.

sfstandard.com

 

[tarabull]

Reminds me so much of Sydney West -- still missing -- assumed to have jumped from GGB...

CA - CA - Sydney “Syd” West, 19, University of CA student, San Francisco, 30 Sept 2020

Sydney "Syd" West, who had been living in the San Francisco area since late-August has not been in any contact with family or friends since Sept. 30, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Her last known location is in downtown San Francisco near Chrissy Field, close to the Golden Gate...

www.websleuths.com

 

[Protectwomenandgirls]

Reminds me so much of Sydney West -- still missing -- assumed to have jumped from GGB...

CA - CA - Sydney “Syd” West, 19, University of CA student, San Francisco, 30 Sept 2020

Sydney "Syd" West, who had been living in the San Francisco area since late-August has not been in any contact with family or friends since Sept. 30, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Her last known location is in downtown San Francisco near Chrissy Field, close to the Golden Gate...

www.websleuths.com

I thought of Sydney immediately

 

[Normancita]

Bump!

 

[*LD*]

Bump!

Has it been confirmed that he had a job at Netflix?

 

[SophieRose]

Has it been confirmed that he had a job at Netflix?

Brother desperately seeking answers in Netflix software engineer Yohanes Kidane’s August disappearance

The 22-year-old, who recently graduated from Cornell University, was last seen getting into an Uber in front of his apartment in San Jose, California.

www.nbcnews.com

Yosief told Dateline that they called the San Jose Police Department to conduct a wellness check at his brother’s apartment, but he wasn’t there. He said officers then went to Yohanes’s job and found out he never showed up to work that Tuesday. “This is where we start to really get scared,” Yosief said.

 

[slowpoke]

Thinking of that reported “strange encounter” incident with the first Uber driver. Looking at a map, in my rough, simple language it seems like San Francisco is located at the top of an elongated oval-ish SF Bay, and San Jose is at the bottom. It doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable to go driving down either side of the Bay to get to San Jose. So, one way would go down the side where Oakland is. Maybe that’s all the driver was intending to do, but Yohanes misunderstood? MOO

** Next, I’m NOT talking about Yohanes here: **
This case reminded me of a teen (Antoine Whittley) who had taken an Uber ride, also in the general Nor Cal vicinity. The driver was very worried about the teen rider, because he was acting very odd and paranoid. Due to this, the driver missed the turn off and ended up on the Richmond San Rafael Bridge by mistake. The rider then thought he was being kidnapped, and started physically attacking the driver while he was still driving on the bridge, and insisted he be let out immediately—while on the bridge! He got out, then went missing. He was later found deceased; apparently he jumped. Turns out, he and a friend had taken a hallucinogenic drug beforehand.
** AGAIN, this ^ story is not Yohanes, just mentioning because there were some similarities. **

 

[wyome]

Thinking of that reported “strange encounter” incident with the first Uber driver. Looking at a map, in my rough, simple language it seems like San Francisco is located at the top of an elongated oval-ish SF Bay, and San Jose is at the bottom. It doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable to go driving down either side of the Bay to get to San Jose. So, one way would go down the side where Oakland is. Maybe that’s all the driver was intending to do, but Yohanes misunderstood? MOO

** Next, I’m NOT talking about Yohanes here: **
This case reminded me of a teen (Antoine Whittley) who had taken an Uber ride, also in the general Nor Cal vicinity. The driver was very worried about the teen rider, because he was acting very odd and paranoid. Due to this, the driver missed the turn off and ended up on the Richmond San Rafael Bridge by mistake. The rider then thought he was being kidnapped, and started physically attacking the driver while he was still driving on the bridge, and insisted he be let out immediately—while on the bridge! He got out, then went missing. He was later found deceased; apparently he jumped. Turns out, he and a friend had taken a hallucinogenic drug beforehand.
** AGAIN, this ^ story is not Yohanes, just mentioning because there were some similarities. **

I am so glad you brought this up. I've been puzzled by the "strange Uber encounter", and it has crossed my mind that he may have been paranoid or misunderstood the driver as well. I'm sure we've all had drivers reroute before due to traffic, road closures, whatever. Makes me wonder how he was acting at work around that time. Starting a new job and living in a new city -- huge stressors.

I had not heard of Antoine Whittley, but wow, yes, some similarities for sure.

One thing I find interesting is the sister's comment about seeing his location:
"He said he last spoke to Kidane, who "was super excited to start working at Netflix," on August 13, when they spoke for an hour. The following day, the two brothers' sister, Sara, saw his phone location was "at the Golden Gate Bridge, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary." However, she became concerned when this hadn't moved on Tuesday, August 15, and tried calling Kidane unsuccessfully."

Family describe events before Netflix employee disappeared in California

Yohanes Kidane's brother said he was "super excited to start working at Netflix" before his disappearance.

www.newsweek.com

Is that something young people do, check a friend or family member's location? It's not reported that she called and texted and checked his location after being unresponsive....just that she saw his location.

 

[Protectwomenandgirls]

Thinking of that reported “strange encounter” incident with the first Uber driver. Looking at a map, in my rough, simple language it seems like San Francisco is located at the top of an elongated oval-ish SF Bay, and San Jose is at the bottom. It doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable to go driving down either side of the Bay to get to San Jose. So, one way would go down the side where Oakland is. Maybe that’s all the driver was intending to do, but Yohanes misunderstood? MOO

** Next, I’m NOT talking about Yohanes here: **
This case reminded me of a teen (Antoine Whittley) who had taken an Uber ride, also in the general Nor Cal vicinity. The driver was very worried about the teen rider, because he was acting very odd and paranoid. Due to this, the driver missed the turn off and ended up on the Richmond San Rafael Bridge by mistake. The rider then thought he was being kidnapped, and started physically attacking the driver while he was still driving on the bridge, and insisted he be let out immediately—while on the bridge! He got out, then went missing. He was later found deceased; apparently he jumped. Turns out, he and a friend had taken a hallucinogenic drug beforehand.
** AGAIN, this ^ story is not Yohanes, just mentioning because there were some simila

Yes, coming from San Jose you may go through Oakland to get to San Francisco.

I live in Richmond, where Antoine went missing from

 

[Teche]

Brother desperately seeking answers in Netflix software engineer Yohanes Kidane’s August disappearance

The 22-year-old, who recently graduated from Cornell University, was last seen getting into an Uber in front of his apartment in San Jose, California.

www.nbcnews.com

Yosief told Dateline that they called the San Jose Police Department to conduct a wellness check at his brother’s apartment, but he wasn’t there. He said officers then went to Yohanes’s job and found out he never showed up to work that Tuesday. “This is where we start to really get scared,” Yosief said.

Did he have a significant other or a roommate?

 

[SimplyCass]

One thing I find interesting is the sister's comment about seeing his location:
"He said he last spoke to Kidane, who "was super excited to start working at Netflix," on August 13, when they spoke for an hour. The following day, the two brothers' sister, Sara, saw his phone location was "at the Golden Gate Bridge, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary." However, she became concerned when this hadn't moved on Tuesday, August 15, and tried calling Kidane unsuccessfully."

Family describe events before Netflix employee disappeared in California

Yohanes Kidane's brother said he was "super excited to start working at Netflix" before his disappearance.

www.newsweek.com

Is that something young people do, check a friend or family member's location? It's not reported that she called and texted and checked his location after being unresponsive....just that she saw his location.

(SBM) not too unusual IMO. On iPhone, with Apple ID, if you set up a family account, and everyone is part of it, they can share their location. You can also share your location with any other iOS user for a set time (an hour, end of day, or indefinitely).

I'm more inclined to believe the location sharing was more of a 'passive' thing, in that Yohanes hadn't actively set to share his location before he took the Uber.



Here's examples of how it would look like. On left is the 'family' option, where a switch controls if you're sharing location or not. on the right is sharing your location with someone else.

recently I had driven my aunt down to a location and was supposed to meet up with my cousin (her son). My cousin asked me share location from her phone and it was a lot easier than trying to tell him the address or cross streets where we were at.

It would definitely depend on life experiences and trust. I don't have mine actively set to share. but, say, for example, there had been a recent experience which could/would have been shortened or prevented had I been sharing location, I might leave it on.

 

[TravelingBug]

Given the situation on the Uber ride just prior, it's also possible he may have intentionally location shared if he were nervous or wanting someone to be sure he was being conveyed where he set out to be.

 

[Jsizzle]

I am so glad you brought this up. I've been puzzled by the "strange Uber encounter", and it has crossed my mind that he may have been paranoid or misunderstood the driver as well. I'm sure we've all had drivers reroute before due to traffic, road closures, whatever. Makes me wonder how he was acting at work around that time. Starting a new job and living in a new city -- huge stressors.

I had not heard of Antoine Whittley, but wow, yes, some similarities for sure.

One thing I find interesting is the sister's comment about seeing his location:
"He said he last spoke to Kidane, who "was super excited to start working at Netflix," on August 13, when they spoke for an hour. The following day, the two brothers' sister, Sara, saw his phone location was "at the Golden Gate Bridge, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary." However, she became concerned when this hadn't moved on Tuesday, August 15, and tried calling Kidane unsuccessfully."

Family describe events before Netflix employee disappeared in California

Yohanes Kidane's brother said he was "super excited to start working at Netflix" before his disappearance.

www.newsweek.com

Is that something young people do, check a friend or family member's location? It's not reported that she called and texted and checked his location after being unresponsive....just that she saw his location.

Yes. I follow my husband, kids, immediate family like parents and siblings etc. Sometimes I’ll share my location with a friend for safety reasons. But yeah that’s very common.