Webster native, Netflix engineer reported missing in California

A Webster native living in California has been missing for about a week after he took a ride share to San Francisco.

Yohanes Kidane, 22, was reported missing around 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, according to the San Jose Police Department. He was last seen in San Francisco.

A May graduate of Cornell University, Kidane had just started working at Netflix as a software engineer earlier this month. He moved to California in late July. He graduated from Webster Schroeder High School in 2019, according to Webster Central School District.

Kidane used an Uber to travel from San Jose to San Francisco, leaving his San Jose residence around 7:15 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 14.

He was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, a black hooded sweatshirt and black shoes. His cell phone, wallet and backpack were recovered near the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center in San Francisco the morning after his Uber ride.

“The investigation has uncovered no evidence to suggest that a crime has occurred,” according to the San Jose Police. “San Jose Detectives have kept Mr. Kidane’s family advised of all pertinent developments in the case. The case will remain open until Mr. Kidane is located.”

According to an online fundraiser, days before he was reported missing, Kidane had a "strange encounter" with an Uber driver while he tried to get to San Jose from San Francisco. He told friends that the driver insisted on taking him through Oakland, and Kidane, suspicious of his intentions, was able to cancel the ride after crossing the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. After this ordeal, he expressed his hesitancy in ridesharing alone, according to the gofundme.

Kidane's immediate family is in the Bay Area searching for him. The online fundraiser, which as on Tuesday has more than $72,000 in donations, will cover expenses related to the search, including travel and fees for attorneys and private investigators.

His brother Yosief Kidane, who lives in New York City, told Dateline NBC that he last spoke with his brother on Sunday, Aug. 13 and that the pair chatted for an hour about his new job. The next day, he vanished.

“There’s no me without Yohanes,” Yosief Kidane told Dateline. “He’s my best friend in the world.”

Yosief Kidane told Dateline that he won’t give up looking for his brother. “We’re going to find him and we’re going to bring him home,” he said. “We’re not going to stop. We know our friends and family and the community is not going to stop.”

His mother on a Facebook video showed the lobby of the building in San Jose where her son lived.

"Everybody is here for you," she told her missing son in the video. "Everybody is hoping. 'Til we find you, we are going to keep fighting. Where ever you are, please come back."

Yohanes is a Black man who stands 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs approximately 150 pounds. He's the middle child of three children, all young adults now. All three siblings were born in the United States after their parents immigrated from Eritrea, a country in northeastern Africa.

Anyone with information that could be used to help find Yohanes Kidane is asked to contact the San Jose Police Department at (408) 277-8900 and can reference case number 23-277-0531.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Netflix engineer Yohanes Kidane missing in California