CA CA - Sydney “Syd” West, 19, Univ of CA student, San Francisco, 30 Sep 2020 #2

[IslandGurrl2124]

Also, I think people keep forgetting it was dark outside. The sun had not yet risen. The Youtuber says "Someone has to know something", and that just isn't true. They probably know what Syd was wearing from the hotel footage.

Given the shoes she was wearing, and she was carrying a backpack, she more than likely didn't go to the bridge in the dark to exercise. And given that she grew up in the area, she wasn't sightseeing in the dark, either.

From the information that's been released, there is zero evidence of an abduction.

It's pretty common for a few people to go to the bridge to catch the sunrise. The fires created a thick haze over the bay and provided Red sunrises and sunsets for a bit. I found myself out there once to catch a glimpse. I believe Sydney went out to the bridge that morning to catch a sunrise...sunrise on the day of her disappearance, September 30, 2020 was at 7:05am. She was last seen at 645am. It would make sense that would be the reason why she would be on the bridge that time in my opinion.

 

[Kittybunny]

The PI saying Sydney staying in hotels was a common practice for her (and I'm assuming he meant traveling by herself staying in hotels by herself) seems to contradict what a family member initially said in the News and Observer about Sydney moving in the dorm, never being away from home before and having anxiety because of it. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article246239320.html

I find this very odd. In my experience, when young people stay in hotels in the city that they live in sometimes it's because they are homeless, and sometimes they are on drug binges. Although usually they are more on the motel side of things. I'm not implying this is the case here but it seems odd that she wouldn't have friends to stay with. Or perhaps she was too embarrassed to ask. I just find it very strange.

 

[JMapes]

I find this very odd. In my experience, when young people stay in hotels in the city that they live in sometimes it's because they are homeless, and sometimes they are on drug binges. Although usually they are more on the motel side of things. I'm not implying this is the case here but it seems odd that she wouldn't have friends to stay with. Or perhaps she was too embarrassed to ask. I just find it very strange.

The first explanation that came to my mind for staying in a hotel in a city you'd otherwise have places to crash (friends couches, family homes, her own dorm room) would be for in calls.

In/out calls is a term generally used by escort services in their ads. Meaning: the escort is able to go "out" to your home or hotel, or she offers her services "in" her home or hotel room.

There is absolutely nothing to suggest SW was providing escort services. Though, if she had, it would be an important avenue for her family to look into, as foul play becomes even more of a reality.

But there's also no reason she should've had a burner phone, so it begs the question of who she was contacting using a phone that for all intents and purposes, "doesn't exist".

Surely, they've checked all security footage from the hotel by now...Would be curious to see if she checked in alone, or arrived with anyone else. If she made/received any calls in her room, how she paid for her hotel stay. What time she checked in/out of the hotel. If she left any of her belongings in the room etc.

This is of course, a stretch, even for me, as I believe she succumbed to depression on the GGB that morning. Syd was a high achiever struggling with depression and part of a family who appears very involved with their outward appearance, status and reputation. I know what it's like to struggle with your mental health, while having your family more concerned with how this makes them look and feeling sorry for themselves about "where they went wrong" vs how they could've helped and supported their daughter through mental illness in the first place.

MOO.

 

[genuineusa77]

I find this very odd. In my experience, when young people stay in hotels in the city that they live in sometimes it's because they are homeless, and sometimes they are on drug binges. Although usually they are more on the motel side of things. I'm not implying this is the case here but it seems odd that she wouldn't have friends to stay with. Or perhaps she was too embarrassed to ask. I just find it very strange.

I would think she would have gone home instead of staying there in hotels. I wonder what her father thought about this when he was talking to her the day before she disappeared.

 

[genuineusa77]

I dont think the parents mentioned she was on meds in any interview they've given from what I've seen thus far.

I know they said she suffered at one point from depression and if she were on antidepressants, they do give you suicidal thoughts. I had a family member who was on them and attempted suicide three times while on them. He finally went off them, 25 years ago, and has been fine ever since!

 

[NSamuelle]

I would think she would have gone home instead of staying there in hotels. I wonder what her father thought about this when he was talking to her the day before she disappeared.

Agreed. She dropped out of Berkeley after just a few days. She had been couch surfing for a month before ending up in a hotel. Why didn’t she just go home? Dad had already refused to pay for Berkeley (source: Sydney’s Reddit) so she may have felt there was little to lose by refusing to come back to NC.

 

[kaen]

I am not surprised she didn't go home. She had the means to stay in SF. She probably wouldn't want to have to say she left school after she just had a gap year. Hotel living is also a very isolated existence. We have a young woman who may have thought she was a crossroads in terms of her life path. Many of our youth have only focused on being the bestest and brightest in their academic lives AND have had limited disappointments which means that they can't see the forest for the trees.

I am not sure what happened to Sydney but I fear she is no longer with us. It seems like she was in a lot of psychic pain and possibly had very clouded thinking due to the concussion. I guess I think that we would have at least some bread crumbs if she were still alive.

 

[owleye]

But there's also no reason she should've had a burner phone, so it begs the question of who she was contacting using a phone that for all intents and purposes, "doesn't exist".

Did Sydney have both her personal cell phone AND a burner phone? Why would she need a burner phone? And was the burner phone ever found? I don't really know what a burner phone is or why someone would need one if they already had a cell phone. Is this something common among young adults?

 

[SimplyCass]

Did Sydney have both her personal cell phone AND a burner phone? Why would she need a burner phone? And was the burner phone ever found? I don't really know what a burner phone is or why someone would need one if they already had a cell phone. Is this something common among young adults?

Accounts yes, but not phones. A lot of people I know have 2-3 social accounts per platform. Some are declared, some are not. There even a term in "finsta" as in "fake insta" for more public facing/influencer accounts and more private ones for close friends.

i have not seen any MSM reporting on this burner phone.

Newer iPhone models have an eSIM slot but i see it mostly for work reasons (unclear how separated/the barrier is between actual and e-sim).

 

[Vacajoe]

I don't really know what a burner phone is or why someone would need one if they already had a cell phone. Is this something common among young adults?

A “burner phone” is simply a cheap, disposable cell phone that is usually paid on a month-to-month basis or by # of texts/calls. It gives the user anonymity since there is no long-term contract and it can be bought with cash.

Kids AND adults use them to hide activities they don’t want others to know about (dating, websites, drug purchases, etc) since parents/partners can’t track its usage if they don’t know about it.

 

[SimplyCass]

A “burner phone” is simply a cheap, disposable cell phone that is usually paid on a month-to-month basis or by # of texts/calls. It gives the user anonymity since there is no long-term contract and it can be bought with cash.

Kids AND adults use them to hide activities they don’t want others to know about (dating, websites, drug purchases, etc) since parents/partners can’t track its usage if they don’t know about it.

It's not clear to me how many people use an actual, separate prepaid phone. I feel like most of that anonymity can be retained with simply having multiple accounts, not requiring a separate phone. (For instance, I know it was a thing to share social media passwords with your SO, so you'd want a second account to do private things without the SO knowing.)

As we've seen in other cases, social media apps like Kik or Snapchat or so-called end-to-end encrypted apps like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, etc. already seem quite difficult/impossible to track down. (Basically, anything that isn't a cellular call or plain SMS). Like the Mekayli Bali case. On the Jason Landry case it's been reported that warrants for Snapchat will take up to 22 months.

For me, at least, the costs of having a prepaid phone exceed its potential uses. T-Mobile's plan is $3/month for 30 texts or calls (a shared pool) and at least $20-$30 for a cheap prepaid phone. Or I can just log on with a burner social media/email account instead.

 

[NSamuelle]

Did Sydney have both her personal cell phone AND a burner phone? Why would she need a burner phone? And was the burner phone ever found? I don't really know what a burner phone is or why someone would need one if they already had a cell phone. Is this something common among young adults?

Her friend reported (on WebSleuths, actually), that her parents tracked her using her phone, so she had a burner. According to Sydney’s own Twitter account, her father once smashed her phone with a hammer, so she probably wanted a back-up. The burner had the same number as her other phone - she just switched out the SIM card. Her parents said that she did not have a burner phone, but did not respond to the quote from her friend establishing that she did.

 

[Vacajoe]

TracFone has been running the same $100 deal on QVC for years: newer model Android phone with a year’s service including 1,000 texts, plenty of voice minutes, and several gigs of data.

Cheap price to pay if you are someone who values privacy

 

[10ofRods]

I would think she would have gone home instead of staying there in hotels. I wonder what her father thought about this when he was talking to her the day before she disappeared.

Where are you thinking "home" was to her at that time? Didn't she withdraw from Berkeley? Her family was on the opposite coast. I doubt she felt "home" with her parents, if her dad was the type who smashed cell phones (and I wonder what could have led to that).

Motels in San Francisco are largely seedy and/or non-existent. It's a hotel kind of place. I feel much safer at the Hilton Financial Center (where I've stayed alone several times while on business and sometimes on family vacations) than I would at most of the motels on Lombard Street or Van Ness (where I've actually been assaulted and witnessed assaults as well). There are a few good ones (Cow Hollow - you get a shout out!) but they are almost always booked way in advance.

I think this trip to SF was not planned months in advance.

 

[genuineusa77]

Where are you thinking "home" was to her at that time? Didn't she withdraw from Berkeley? Her family was on the opposite coast. I doubt she felt "home" with her parents, if her dad was the type who smashed cell phones (and I wonder what could have led to that).

Motels in San Francisco are largely seedy and/or non-existent. It's a hotel kind of place. I feel much safer at the Hilton Financial Center (where I've stayed alone several times while on business and sometimes on family vacations) than I would at most of the motels on Lombard Street or Van Ness (where I've actually been assaulted and witnessed assaults as well). There are a few good ones (Cow Hollow - you get a shout out!) but they are almost always booked way in advance.

I think this trip to SF was not planned months in advance.

I say home (her parent's) because she really had no permanent place to go or stay. As for her father smashing her phone, I have no idea what that was about. Was someone sending her illicit messages? I'm sure she knows her parents love her to no end. She pines for her old friends in Ca. I think if she had not taken that gap year she might have hooked up with them at Berkley for her freshman year assuming some of them went there.

 

[lowes123]

The burner phone really opens up a whole new can of worms. People get them so that they cannot be tracked. From what I have seen, they are usually used by someone dealing drugs, but I don’t believe she was into that scene. Is she had a cell and a burner, there is something there.

 

[NSamuelle]

The burner phone really opens up a whole new can of worms. People get them so that they cannot be tracked. From what I have seen, they are usually used by someone dealing drugs, but I don’t believe she was into that scene. Is she had a cell and a burner, there is something there.

There’s no evidence that she was experimenting with drugs (aside from marijuana), only alcohol (a friend pictured in Sydney’s photo account said that the alcohol pictured was Sydney’s, and Sydney described alcohol use in her Reddit). Her parents tracked her location, according to a friend who described her burner phone and reported it to the PI, including the model of the phone and the fact that it had a cracked screen. She was trying to avoid being tracked. Her parents still deny the burner phone (source: main Find Sydney account). According to another friend, they kicked her out of the house occasionally for bad grades. Her dad smashed her main phone with a hammer (source: Syd’s Twitter). I understand, I guess, if this gets reported for being negative against the family. But I think it’s important to speak up for Sydney and repeat what she said and experienced, and give voice to her friends.

 

[Lusitana]

I don’t think the burner phone immediately equals dealing drugs or other criminal activity. If a teen/young adult is aware of their parents tracking their location, they might get a burner phone for that reason. They don’t want to be tracked but they still want to be able to contact people. I’m sure there are many ways of messing with tracking apps now, to make it seem like you’re somewhere when you’re actually somewhere else.

 

[JMapes]

I don’t think the burner phone immediately equals dealing drugs or other criminal activity. If a teen/young adult is aware of their parents tracking their location, they might get a burner phone for that reason. They don’t want to be tracked but they still want to be able to contact people. I’m sure there are many ways of messing with tracking apps now, to make it seem like you’re somewhere when you’re actually somewhere else.

Bingo! If I knew my parents were tracking my whereabouts and my father has gotten angry enough to smash my phone in the past over something I did or he didn't like, I would leave the trackable phone at home/in my dorm, and go out with the burner phone so I could still communicate with friends, get an Uber, use google maps etc. MOO.

If her trackable phone were left behind, still connected to the wi-fi signal at the dorm, the parents would be mislead to believe she's there.

Having strict parents can really teach you how to be more secretive and cover your tracks. This could definitely have some unintended side effects. Perhaps instead of having parents she could open up to and tell when she was hurting, she may have not felt comfortable sharing her mental health struggles with them. Was it for fear of not being believed? Was she afraid they wouldn't understand or help her through it? Would she have been made to feel worse, like she was ungrateful for all the things they helped her achieve?

Here she is, an accomplished student and athlete, who spent her whole life up to this point studying hard and competing in team sports. She was successfully accepted to top-ranking schools, but perhaps there was a shift in her mindset through the pandemic, or through depression, and maybe she just wasn't...feeling worthy of it all?

To work so hard for something you don't feel like you "earned", or maybe it's just something you don't even want anymore...This could be such a hopeless feeling. This is what depression does. MOO.

 

[K9Enzo]

Sidney's age of 19, while an adult, she was probably not completely independent and was supported financially by her parents. IMO, that's normal for that age. At the same time, she was a young adult that probably wanted freedom from her parents. If she had a burner phone, that's a sign to me she wanted privacy that she felt she was not getting. I grew up with very strict parents and was the only girl. I became very sneaky and resourceful. If you wanted to know what I was up to, ask my very close friends, my parents had no clue. IMO