Utah tech CEO goes missing in California
Published at | Updated at
Liesl Nielsen & Lauren Bennett, KSL.com
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah tech CEO went missing Monday night in California, officials confirmed to KSL.com.
Erin Valenti, of Salt Lake City, was last seen Monday afternoon in Palo Alto, California, wearing torn jeans and a white T-shirt, according to the San Jose Police Department and a Facebook post from her husband, Harrison Weinstein.
She was en route from Palo Alto to San Jose, but she never returned her rental car and missed her flight home to Utah. The last time she talked to her husband on the phone was Monday night, and her phone pinged to San Jose, he said.
Her phone has been turned off since Monday, according to her husband.
Valenti is the founder and CEO of Tinker Ventures and was due to return for the Women Tech Awards Wednesday evening where she was to receive an award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, said Sara Jones, co-founder of the Women Tech Council, of which Valenti is a member.
“The awards is a big event. … (It’s) very surprising to have a finalist not show without notice,” Jones said. “The tech community is very worried about her.”
Our friend @erinmvalenti is missing. Please read the attached image (a Facebook post by her husband) and help spread the word. ? pic.twitter.com/c7mN2jjCiI
— Silicon Slopes (@siliconslopes) October 11, 2019
Valenti’s husband said nothing like this has ever happened before, and it’s very unlike her to go days without contact. Police are treating her case as a “voluntary missing persons case,” and there isn’t an active search by law enforcement, according to San Jose Police Sgt. Enrique Garcia.
According to preliminary investigations, there does not seem to be any evidence of foul play, but police are not releasing any more information at this time, Garcia said.
Valenti is a white woman with blue eyes and blonde hair. She is 5 feet 4 inches, weighs 150 pounds, and will turn 34 on Oct. 16. Valenti was last seen driving a gray Nissan Murano with California license plates 8LUD641.
Those with any information regarding her whereabouts should call the San Jose Police Department at 408-277-4141.