Woman is charged with kidnapping Slack billionaire heiress Mint Butterfield along with 26-year-old tattooed suspect - as her parents praise cops for finding her alive

A woman has been charged with kidnapping Slack billionaire heiress Mint Butterfield, along with a 26-year-old tattooed suspect. 

On Saturday evening, Mint, 16, who uses they/them pronouns, was found by police in the back of a white van after they vanished for more than a week in San Francisco. 

Sarah Atkins was charged with abduction and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Christopher 'Kio' Dizefalo was charged with several counts, including child abduction, according to a criminal complaint. 

Mint is the only daughter of two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield and Flickr founder Caterina Fake.

After Mint was found, Butterfield and Fake both praised the cops for locating their daughter, and branded Dizefalo a 'predator.' 

Mint Butterfield, the 16-year-old child of billionaire tech CEO Stewart Butterfield, was found on Saturday night

Christopher 'Kio' Dizefalo, seen here, was with Mint when they was located. He was charged with several counts, including child abduction. Sarah Atkins was charged with abduction and contributing to the delinquency of a minor

On Wednesday, Dizefalo appeared in Marin County Superior Court, as a judge ordered him to stay away from Mint. He is expected back in court on Friday. 

Atkins did not appear in court and is not in custody as of Wednesday. A warrant has been issued for her arrest, Deputy District Attorney Daniel Madow told the court.  Atkins, who is said to be in her late 20s, was not present when Mint was found, Marin Sheriff Sgt. Adam Schermerhorn told The San Francisco Standard. 

Mint vanished from their mother's home in affluent Bolinas, on April 21, before Fake reported them missing the following day.

Detectives said they learned Mint was associating with Dizefalo, who was known to drive a white van. After tracking down the vehicle, officers found Mint inside. 

Authorities said Dizefalo and Mint were in a 'quasi-relationship,' according to the New York Post.  

In a statement, Marin County Sheriff's Office said Mint was found uninjured and that they had run away from home voluntarily. 

After Dizefalo was interviewed by detectives, he was arrested and booked in the Marin County Jail, with bail set at $50,000. 

Police said earlier in the week that Mint was an 'at-risk' due to a reported previous threat of suicide. Mint is also reported to have battled addiction issues in the past.

They said Mint had left their mother's home with a suitcase and left a note behind indicating they had left the residence. Police believed they were in the Tenderloin area. 

Mint's father, Stewart Butterfield, is the Slack co-founder. He is seen at the WIRED25 Summit in 2019

Their mother, Caterina Fake, is the founder of Flickr. She is pictured at the Fortune's Most Powerful Women conference in Dana Point, California in October 2018

The Tenderloin is the center of the fentanyl crisis in San Francisco and is known  for squalid conditions, homelessness, crime, drug trade, and prostitution.

In an email to the press, Butterfield and Fake condemned Dizefalo, a parking valet. 

The parents wrote: 'We especially want to thank the seasoned law enforcement officers who understand the very real threat of predators who use the allure of drugs to groom teenagers.' 

Mint's father is currently worth $1.6 billion. Slack was acquired by Salesforce in 2021 for $28 billion and Butterfield left the company in 2022.  Their mother started the imaging service Flickr with her then partner, Butterfield. They sold the image-hosting website to Yahoo in 2005.

Since then, Fake has served on the board of several startups and is known as an angel investor in the tech world. 

Fake and Butterfield married in 2001 and remained together until 2007, when Mint was born.

Mint's parents married in 2001 and remained together until 2007 when they were born. Butterfield is seen with his now wife Jen Rubio (left) and Fake is seen with her now husband Jyri Engestrom (right) 

In 2021, Butterfield purchased a $31.7 million mansion in Aspen, Colorado. The residence sprawls over a five-acre estate overlooking the Castle Creek Valley

Stewart Butterfield's $19 million San Francisco home located in the upmarket Presidio Heights

Butterfield has since married Jen Rubio, co-founder of Away - an American luggage and travel accessories brand, and the pair have two young children together. 

Fake is now in a relationship with Jaiku co-founder, Jyri Engestrom, and the couple share three children between them. 

In 2021, Butterfield purchased a $31.7 million mansion in Aspen, Colorado. The residence sprawls over a five-acre estate overlooking the Castle Creek Valley. 

The property boasts a generous home gym, a home theater, a games room, a 500-bottle wine cellar, a tasting room, six in-suite bedrooms and a three-car garage.

Butterfield also owns a $19 million home in San Francisco, which has seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms and sits in the posh Presidio Heights neighborhood.