The remains found in San Francisco Bay last month were identified on Wednesday, September 6, as those of 22-year-old Netflix software engineer Yohanes Stefanos Kidane.
According to authorities, Kidane’s remains were found by a boater northeast of the Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay around noon on August 29. The Marin County Sheriff’s Offices said the body was recovered by the Coast Guard.
Identifying Kidane didn’t happen immediately as the body “exhibited signs of advanced decomposition, prolonged exposure to the aquatic environment and appreciable depredation.”
The forensic examination conducted early this month determined Kidane’s cause of death “to be from blunt impact injuries with drowning as a significant contributing condition. The mode of death was determined to be suicide.”
Prior to his death, Kidane lived in San Jose and worked as a Netflix engineer. He had recently graduated from Cornell University with a degree in computer science.
“We are devastated by the tragic nature of his passing, and we encourage all who knew him on campus to seek help as they struggle with this loss,” Joel M. Malina, the vice president of relations at Cornell, said in a statement. A Netflix spokesperson added that the its employees were “saddened by the loss of a young and brilliant coworker.”
Before Kidane’s body was identified, his family posted a GoFundMe page to search for him. Kidane was last seen leaving his apartment August 14. His personal belongings were discovered near the Golden Gate Bridge visitors center the next day, leading the family to suspect foul play.
Kidane allegedly reported having a concerning altercation with an Uber driver just two days before his disappearance. Still, police decided there was no evidence of another party being involved in his death.
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