Yohanes Kidane: Netflix engineer's body found in San Francisco Bay two weeks after going missing, authorities deem death a suicide
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The life of Yohanes Kidane, a Netflix engineer who went missing in San Jose and was later found dead near the Golden Gate Bridge, is shrouded in mystery.
Kidane, a 22-year-old who had recently graduated from Cornell University, was reported missing in mid-August.
He had landed a job with Netflix, a week before he went missing, per the Daily Mail.
The disappearance and discovery of Yohanes Kidane
Kidane had relocated to the San Jose area only two weeks prior to his disappearance on August 14.
On August 29, authorities received a call about an unresponsive person in the waters of the San Francisco Bay.
The Coast Guard and coroners were dispatched to the scene, where they pulled Kidane's lifeless body from the water.
"The remains exhibited signs of advanced decomposition, prolonged exposure to the aquatic environment, and appreciable depredation," the press release stated.
An autopsy conducted on Friday, September 1, confirmed that the body was indeed Kidane's.
The cause of death was determined to be "blunt impact injuries with drowning" listed as a contributing factor.
It is unknown how Kidane sustained those injuries. Kidane's death was deemed a suicide by the Marin County Sheriff's Office. However, it is not known how the coroner arrived at that conclusion either.
Kidane's phone and wallet were found near the iconic Golden Gate Bridge shortly after he went missing.
His wallet contained cash, ID cards and an untouched phone.
Yohanes Kidane remembered as a 'really positive guy'
Kidane's family, who were understandably devastated by the loss of their son and brother, remembered him as a "very intelligent, high-achieving individual with lofty expectations for himself."
Friends described Kidane's mental state before his disappearance as "normal as always," adding that he had "always been a really positive guy."
A friend said, "We don't think there's any self-harm or anything implicated from that."
"Because his family situation, I think, was perfectly fine, friends are fine, workplace is fine," the friend further stated.
"He was super motivated, honestly. He was going to the gym and was just pretty excited about life," the friend added.
Kidan'e sister, who initially noticed his phone's location near the Golden Gate Bridge, played a pivotal role in alerting authorities to his disappearance.
A GoFundMe campaign had been launched to help in the search for him. The campaign had raised $108,573 at the time of wiriting.
