Butterfield, a child of tech giants Stuart Butterfield and Catherine Fake, has been safely reunited with their family after being missing for a week. The Bolinas teenager, who uses the pronouns they/them, was initially thought to be in danger.
Butterfield’s parents are known for co-founding Flickr and Stewart later co-founded Slack. Jiri Engestrom, Butterfield’s stepfather and also a founder of technology, expressed relief at the teenager’s safe recovery. The family expressed their gratitude to everyone who helped in the search for Butterfield, including family, friends, volunteers and strangers who provided tips.
Police initially said that Butterfield was a voluntarily missing juvenile at risk because of a previous suicide attempt. However, authorities reported that Butterfield left a note and took a suitcase with him but did not have a car or phone. The Butterfields’ safe recovery brought relief to their loved ones and the community after a challenging period of uncertainty.