Our hearts are full of gratitude tonight to the hard working men and women of the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, the San Francisco Police Department, and the other law enforcement agencies of the Bay Area who worked together to safely recover our child, Mint, from the streets of San Francisco this evening. We want to thank family, friends, volunteers, and strangers who called in tips and made this recovery possible. The last seven days have been terrifying. We are painfully aware that people die of overdoses every day in this city and we are lucky to have had the support of seasoned police officers who understand the very real threat of predators who groom and manipulate teenagers with the lure of drugs. Thank you. –Caterina Fake, Stewart Butterfield, and stepdad Jyri Engestrom
Alison Barakat made the first sighting of Mint in Oakland. Forever grateful! Grace Kahng, pulled a 53 hour day pursuing clues to the whereabouts of Mint. Her dedication to saving young women from predators is unmatched; everyone who brought meals, hung posters and walked around looking for Mint; Mint’s friends who provided many clues; and several women who want to remain anonymous helped us immensely telling of their experiences with the man who took Mint from our home. That they escaped and told us their story took tremendous courage. Respect.
And of course we could not have done it without law enforcement—this was an incredibly complex case covering three different jurisdictions; city, state and federal were involved–our gratitude to them is enormous.
Caterina.net 