CA CA - Sydney “Syd” West, 19, University of CA student, San Francisco, 30 Sept 2020

[RedMaple]

I have only looked at the one youtube video (4 months ago) referred to above and am having difficulty seeing them as one and same person as the above pic of Syd.

Could be just me, but IMO the girl in the video looks much younger than Syd and has brown eyes when Syd is reported to have blue eyes.

How has it been established that the youtube channel does in fact belong to the Syd West who is the subject of this thread?

It seems like this youtube channel was used by Syd and her 10 year old sister to create videos together. See 0:35 mark of the video called Organizing Wardrobe and Rolling Up Tees!

 

[Bridger]

How has it been established that the youtube channel does in fact belong to the Syd West who is the subject of this thread?

It’s hers. Parents names are correct. See the video about her family.

 

[Sillybilly]

Thanks everyone !! We don't get time to view all videos, so just checking to make sure we've got the right people.

Just seemed a big visual and age discrepancy to me, but now that it's been explained, it makes sense.

 

[darring21]

I have only looked at the one youtube video (4 months ago) referred to above and am having difficulty seeing them as one and same person as the above pic of Syd.

Could be just me, but IMO the girl in the video looks much younger than Syd and has brown eyes when Syd is reported to have blue eyes.

How has it been established that the youtube channel does in fact belong to the Syd West who is the subject of this thread?

Pretty sure it is. Go to the ski vlog and go to 9:50 and that looks like her.

 

[RedMaple]

Here she is talking about learning to be more forgiving, accepting, and self-compassionate:

I'm hoping she did learn to go easier on herself and did learn from the course, instead of just saying what she thought the host and audience wanted to hear. She's clearly such a driven woman who is full of promise. Praying for your safe return, Syd.

 

[Cryptic]

First, from the attached screenshot, it seems like she may have been snapchatting with an older 'daddy'-type guy. There's only one post like this, so not sure whether it's a habit or just a bored teenager exploring her sexuality, but I would definitely want LEO to check her Snapchat history and also whether she had a burner account just for purposes like this.

Yikes, I hope it was only an impulsive conversation.

Even still, the totality does not seem right. The missing girl is physically attractive, athletic, enrolled in a prestige university and apparently from a high income background. Even with mild depression, she would not seem to need anything- let alone casual sexuality conversation from a 'daddy type' guy.

The fact that she, at least on one occasion, sought out conversation with "Daddy dude, the creepy conversationalist", might indicate that her depression is significantly more than mild. More severe depression could also indicate more such conversations with different people and maybe meet ups or dates.

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN NOTE:

Normally reddit is not an approved source at Websleuths but in this case it is the missing person's social media account so it is being allowed for discussion. As per social media rules, paraphrasing is allowed but screenshots and direct quotes are not allowed.

As always, please post in accordance with The Rules: Social Media - Facebook, Twitter, etc

Thanks.

 

[steff13]

Not to suggest that it means anything, but it's weird there are no dental records available, IMO. I have a son older than Syd, one her age, and a daughter who's 10, they all three get dental x-rays every year. You usually see a lack of dental records in older cases, before people went on a regular basis.

 

[RedMaple]

Yikes, I hope it was only an impulsive conversation.

Even still, the totality does not seem right. The missing girl is physically attractive, athletic, enrolled in a prestige university and apparently from a high income background. Even with mild depression, she would not seem to need anything- let alone casual sexuality conversation from a 'daddy type' guy.

The fact that she, at least on one occasion, sought out conversation with "Daddy dude, the creepy conversationalist", might indicate that her depression is significantly more than mild. More severe depression could also indicate more such conversations with different people and maybe meet ups or dates.

Agreed. There are a few points here that don't seem to mesh: in some posts, she is admittedly sexually inexperienced, posting in a demisexual group (had to look that term up - apparently descriptive of folks who derive attraction from an emotional connection rather than a physical one), but then reach out to at least one person like the screenshot shows. She also said that she wanted to have sex but needed to have the emotional connection, but then making that emotional connection can feel forced sometimes.

19 is a tricky age, and being 19 in the middle of a pandemic has to be 10x trickier. I'm wondering if she met someone (maybe online), made that emotional connection that she seeks, expressed to them how she was unhappy with college, and was convinced to run away with them - a couple of kids on the run, fueled by their young love. Unfortunately, I could also see someone taking advantage of her naivety and emotional vulnerability and luring her away.

I wonder if law enforcement can get any deleted posts from Reddit. For what it's worth, my guess is the original poster of the NSFW Reddit post is the person who responded to her comment. His post history is full of posts similar to the one she replied to. He seems to be from Australia - somewhere that the well-travelled Syd visited but I don't think she was there in July 2019, when she responded to his query.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Thanks for sharing this. It explains a lot. Specifically, if UC Berkeley is "Plan B" then the list of schools she couldn't get into would be fairly short. The Ivies, Stanford, and UMass Amherst were apparently on that list. Getting accepted on a D1 rowing team was also a major factor, maybe more so to her than academics.

So is there a rowing facility near Crissy Field? Was she ever seen where the UCB team practices? Did she know anyone at Stanford or on the Stanford rowing team? I don't know if all rowing activities would be suspended because of covid-19, but if they were, that might contribute to her dissatisfaction with school.

To follow up on this, one of her reddit posts said UCB offered her walk on status for the first 2 years with a possible full scholarship for Jr. and Sr. years. The UCB Spring 2020 rowing events and Summer Camp were all cancelled and the 2020-2021 schedule is not posted. Mostly it's a Spring sport, so it seems to be on hold for now.

 

[Lusitana]

Sydney has two private Instagram accounts- Reason why she hasn’t been active on her public account... If you dig in deeper there’s more info on her. She has two secret Instagram accounts! Something happened to her that we are not being told.

@sydofthewest
@Songsby.syd

I wouldn't consider those "secret" accounts. The first one is most likely a finsta/spam account, considering the amount of posts and the more or less even number of followers and following. Meaning, it's an account for friends, she probably posted more private stuff there, and by private I don't necessarily mean something "bad", maybe it's just pictures and videos of her and her friends being silly. The second account strikes me as a place where she intended on sharing her music.
I haven't had a chance to check out her YouTube and her Reddit but I will.

 

[azure]

I haven't looked, but deleted reddit posts can be found on removeddit.com and ceddit.

 

[Teche]

I have only looked at the one youtube video (4 months ago) referred to above and am having difficulty seeing them as one and same person as the above pic of Syd.

Could be just me, but IMO the girl in the video looks much younger than Syd and has brown eyes when Syd is reported to have blue eyes.

How has it been established that the youtube channel does in fact belong to the Syd West who is the subject of this thread?

Could it be her younger sister in the video.

 

[Knox]

I hope I am wrong about this, but I am getting very similar vibes to the Mackenzie Lueck case. The secret Instagram accounts, etc. and the red flags around depression really have me worried for her. If she wanted an adventure there's plenty to be had in San Francisco, I just don't imagine that she went off somewhere else, but she certainly could've gone off with someone.

Praying she is found safe.

If we aren't looking at self-harm, I totally agree with you. Also have the same concerns around the IG account, it leads me to suspect she may be experimenting with something which could have led to a dangerous encounter. All JMO.

Hopefully LE is checking all the social media platforms.

 

[Gigi3]

If we aren't looking at self-harm, I totally agree with you. Also have the same concerns around the IG account, it leads me to suspect she may be experimenting with something which could have led to a dangerous encounter. All JMO.

Hopefully LE is checking all the social media platforms.

I was just thinking the same thing. It reminds me so much of that case. I truly hope they find something soon because it doesn’t sound good right now.

 

[BirdieB]

I have been reading her Reddit comments and she mentions she would rather go to a trampoline park than go to a party. There is a huge Trampoline park in Crissy Field. I would think she went there. It would be too random for her to write trampoline park and not go...

 

[Kittybunny]

If we aren't looking at self-harm, I totally agree with you. Also have the same concerns around the IG account, it leads me to suspect she may be experimenting with something which could have led to a dangerous encounter. All JMO.

Hopefully LE is checking all the social media platforms.

Self harm is a strong possibility in my mind also. Reminds a little too of Owen?, the young man in Oregon - high expectations from his parents, that he had for himself. College is a tough experience for some.

 

[10ofRods]

To follow up on this, one of her reddit posts said UCB offered her walk on status for the first 2 years with a possible full scholarship for Jr. and Sr. years. The UCB Spring 2020 rowing events and Summer Camp were all cancelled and the 2020-2021 schedule is not posted. Mostly it's a Spring sport, so it seems to be on hold for now.

Both the Cal and the Stanford women's rowing schedules remain unpublished. Last year, they opened with a traditional Cal vs Stanford event to be held at Berkeley.

Crissy Field is a place where people can and do get into the cold water of the Bay to swim or sometimes kayak. It's a tourist attraction due to its views of the GG Bridge.

The SF Police no longer publish their crime map (long story, lots of local controversy). Crissy Field is certainly not in the worst part of town and isn't that far from Fisherman's Wharf. It's a beautiful place, although I wouldn't want to be a young woman alone there in early evening, much less at night.

Do we know the time of that phone ping?

 

[10ofRods]

Self harm is a strong possibility in my mind also. Reminds a little too of Owen?, the young man in Oregon - high expectations from his parents, that he had for himself. College is a tough experience for some.

I find it very concerning as well. GG Bridge is walking/jogging distance, the bay is right there and a long swim is probably not the best idea (especially if toward the bridge). The stretch between Crissy Field and the bridge is rather desolate. It reminds me a bit of the young man who went missing in Australia.

Did she actually ever go to Cal? She took a gap year - but did she actually attend this year? Do we know?

 

[dotr]

I find it very concerning as well. GG Bridge is walking/jogging distance, the bay is right there and a long swim is probably not the best idea (especially if toward the bridge). The stretch between Crissy Field and the bridge is rather desolate. It reminds me a bit of the young man who went missing in Australia.

Did she actually ever go to Cal? She took a gap year - but did she actually attend this year? Do we know?

Pleasanton: Former Foothill student reported missing in San Francisco
''The Pleasanton Unified School District confirmed West attended Foothill during her freshman and sophomore years before her family moved to North Carolina. She is listed now as a resident of Chapel Hill, N.C.

Orange County Sheriff's officials said West had been living in the Bay Area since late August, stating that she was "until recently" a student at University of California at Berkeley and since had been residing with friends in San Francisco.''