California Netflix employee vanishes after taking mystery Uber near San Francisco

Surveillance footage captured 22-year-old Yohanes Kidane entering a black Toyota Camry on 14 August

Yohanes Kidane has been missing since Monday evening, his family said (Yohanes Kidane / LinkedIn)

A 22-year-old Netflix employee went missing in California earlier this week after surveillance cameras showed him taking an Uber toward San Jose — just weeks after he started his new job.

The young man, Yohanes Kidane, graduated from Cornell University in May and started working at the streaming service only two weeks before he vanished, his family told KTVU. The footage captured the recent grad entering a black Toyota Camry on 14 August at about 7.15pm.

His family told the outlet that on Tuesday morning a commuter found the 22-year-old’s phone and wallet and turned them in.

“Someone who was in San Rafael, who was on a commute, saw a phone and wallet sitting on this small grassy hill right between the Welcome Center and coffee shop,” his older brother said, adding they found that “Thirty bucks in cash was in his wallet; IDs, cards, phone untouched.”

A day later, on Wednesday, police found his backpack near the Golden Gate Bridge, which had “two of his laptops and personal documents seemingly untouched,” Mr Kidane told the station.

A poster of Yohanes Kidane put up near the Golden Gate Bridge describes him as a Black man, 5ft 8in tall and weighing about 150 pounds. He was last seen wearing grey sweatpants, a black hoodie and black shoes.

“We want to take him home. I need my son. I need my son,” the missing man’s mother said. “He’s a good man who has a bright future, very loving to his family,” she continued.

“Calling medical centres, homeless shelters, distributing posters; doing everything that we can to get my brother back. My best friend,” his brother added.