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

[SouthAussie]

I interpreted @ElizabethAnne to mean that the covid testing records would help establish one more little bit of the timeline.

Oh sorry .... I thought it was flowing on from our immediate conversation ahead of that post. As we had discussed the University's covid entry precautions previously.

 

[ElizabethAnne]

I interpreted @ElizabethAnne to mean that the covid testing records would help establish one more little bit of the timeline.

Yes, that is what I was meaning. Students who lived in the dorm were required to get a COVID test the day of move in, self-quarantine where they were not allowed out or interact with anyone, then show up 7 to 10 days later for a second COVID test. If she did in fact show up 7 to 10 days later for the COVID test, that would be an indication that she was still on the UC Berkeley campus at that time.

 

[elisimo]

Yes, that is what I was meaning. Students who lived in the dorm were required to get a COVID test the day of move in, self-quarantine where they were
not allowed out or interact with anyone, then show up 7 to 10 days later for a second COVID test. If she did in fact show up 7 to 10 days later for the COVID test, that would be an indication that she was still on the UC Berkeley campus at that time.

That would be useful information. Timelines are usually helpful in cases like these, but there is just so little to go on. I’m stumped.

 

[SouthAussie]

That would be useful information. Timelines are usually helpful in cases like these, but there is just so little to go on. I’m stumped.

Quite honestly, the only way in which we are helping now is by keeping Syd's profile high on Google searches ... by posting regularly on the thread. At least she is not sinking to page 5, 6, 20, 25 of Google searches, yet.

Evidently, the public's help is no longer required. All appeals seem to have been directly to Syd herself.

Syd went missing 3½ weeks ago.
All anybody really knows is what Syd was wearing at the time, and where her last known location was.

Fortunately, the police will have as much information as can be deduced. And perhaps a PI also has a lot of that information - although I don't believe the police are required to pass their own info along.

So, unless Syd enrols somewhere, is employed somewhere, signs a lease somewhere, rents/buys a car somewhere etc etc, in her real name AND the relevant persons know enough to put 2 and 2 together ... the chances of the public being able to help are very slim.

IMO

 

[ElizabethAnne]

It would be helpful to know when she was last seen on the UC Berkeley campus, and I would have thought it would be easy to spot if and when she left her dorm with suitcases indicating she was moving out. I would not be surprised if the blue light emergency call boxes located throughout the campus all have cameras. They are often mentioned in the local press Berkeley: Attempted murder suspect arrested and 19-Year-Old Berkeley Student Attacked on Campus etc. I'm not sure why basic info like that is not being released. Perhaps she withdrew and stayed in the dorm until Sept. 30, the day she was missing. If that is the case I would have thought she would have been spotted on the BART cameras or something.

 

[NSamuelle]

It would be helpful to know when she was last seen on the UC Berkeley campus, and I would have thought it would be easy to spot if and when she left her dorm with suitcases indicating she was moving out. I would not be surprised if the blue light emergency call boxes located throughout the campus all have cameras. They are often mentioned in the local press Berkeley: Attempted murder suspect arrested and 19-Year-Old Berkeley Student Attacked on Campus etc. I'm not sure why basic info like that is not being released. Perhaps she withdrew and stayed in the dorm until Sept. 30, the day she was missing. If that is the case I would have thought she would have been spotted on the BART cameras or something.

She moved in with friends “in San Francisco” as reported (but no date), and disappeared. Determining the drop-out date would be very helpful if it were an abduction but the family is very private. I don’t blame or judge them, but respectfully submit that they seem to believe it’s a voluntary disappearance and are acting accordingly. I’m wondering what function we can serve at this point (e.g., digging up information that the family wants to keep private.) My prayers are with them and Syd. Judging by her poetry, I was very much like her and there are SO many options and happy choices even if your parents are Ivy League alum elitists.

Syd, web sleuths can delete everything on this page once you’re found, and you can easily rebuild (without a google trace) using services like reputation defender. Your life is far from over if you’re still out there. This can all be erased. You can start again.

 

[caido47]

This case has really intrigued me from the very start of the investigation. Maybe it's because I am an SF local and have lived here my entire life. Or maybe it's because I'm a few years older than Syd, a recent college grad, and the idea concerns me at the very least. I have been keeping up with all of these forums, FB pages, etc. and in my opinion, considering Syd's occasional struggle with depression, I hate to say that suicide could be a viable answer. However, many potential jumpers of the GGB have started from Crissy Field and made the short walk to the bridge. They are seen from multiple surveillance walking on the bridge but never seen exiting. I hate to say this could be a possibility, but the fact that she was also last seen at such an early time in the morning leans me towards this theory also.

There are a lot of 'i don't knows', and I definitely have hope that Syd will return one day. I walk the GGB often and reflect on the heartbreaking reality of this landmark. There is always a solution. Maybe the police has this footage of Syd's initial entrance onto the GGB and need to confirm before reporting to the press.

I am praying every day for her return.

 

[elisimo]

Her casual attire doesn’t support this theory, but what if she was on her way home from a night out? I’ve been assuming that “before sunrise” meant that she was starting her day early, but it would not be unusual for a young person to be heading hone to bed at that time. Racking my brain!! Any thoughts?

 

[beckyonsea]

Was the Reddit thread debunked as not being Syd's? Only that she mentions wanting to be part of 'the tribe' in a college application?

 

[NSamuelle]

Was the Reddit thread debunked as not being Syd's? Only that she mentions wanting to be part of 'the tribe' in a college application?

The biographical info she provides matches up perfectly (insyderator) - it’s hers.

 

[Mommy2411]

With the lack of updates and information I don’t know how we can help or how it will stay in the news.
No ground searches?

 

[elisimo]

With the lack of updates and information I don’t know how we can help or how it will stay in the news.
No ground searches?

Seems unlikely that we can help or that it will stay in the media. Despite the message that Syd is still a missing person, I’m believing more and more that this is a search and recovery mission vs a search and rescue. If LE had info that they were holding back, no moves have been made, and by now, the trail will have gone cold.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

If LE had info that they were holding back, no moves have been made, and by now, the trail will have gone cold.

Quote RSBM.

Can you explain more, please? What type of moves could they have done if they had what kind of information?

 

[elisimo]

Quote RSBM.

Can you explain more, please? What type of moves could they have done if they had what kind of information?

Because of the few (vague and sometimes differing) details that have been released to the public, several people here have speculated that law enforcement has kept some details from the public to protect the investigation. I’m suggesting that if they had some type of evidence that was worth keeping quiet, I’d expect they would have made an arrest or otherwise “solved” the case. My fear is that if they are withholding information and released it at this point, too much time may have elapsed since Sydney’s disappearance for the public to assist in a meaningful way.

 

[SouthAussie]

Because of the few (vague and sometimes differing) details that have been released to the public, several people here have speculated that law enforcement has kept some details from the public to protect the investigation. I’m suggesting that if they had some type of evidence that was worth keeping quiet, I’d expect they would have made an arrest or otherwise “solved” the case. My fear is that if they are withholding information and released it at this point, too much time may have elapsed since Sydney’s disappearance for the public to assist in a meaningful way.

They might not need any assistance. If foul play is involved, they may know exactly who they want to pin down. These things take time to gather enough proof for an arrest and successful prosecution.
Sometimes we see arrests after 1/2/3 years in cases I have followed here.

 

[elisimo]

They might not need any assistance. If foul play is involved, they may know exactly who they want to pin down. These things take time to gather enough proof for an arrest and successful prosecution.
Sometimes we see arrests after 1/2/3 years in cases I have followed here.

Very good point! Thank you.

 

[ElizabethAnne]

Quote RSBM.

Can you explain more, please? What type of moves could they have done if they had what kind of information?

A lot of details ended up bringing back missing student Matthew Wilson even after he disappeared.

Rice University student Matthew Wilson became missing in Dec. 2007 and was not located for eight months. He was eventually found living as a homeless person on the UC Berkeley campus 8 months later. When this happened --- and I remember it well --- we knew from the press what major he was (Computer Science) and that he had withdrawn several hundred dollars in cash from the ATM prior to his disappearance. His mother revealed to the press that he had gone to Rice because he had gotten a full scholarship; however, Berkeley was one school that he applied to that he ended up not attending.

We, the public, had his license number, make and model of car, and interviews with his roommate and a recent picture taken in the last few weeks of what he looked like. His mother was all over the news and I think an article even appeared in the New York Times. This story went national. When his car was found in Berkeley, we the public knew that a book in the car was on how to change your identity. Then the mother ended up working with Trinity, a missing person husband-wife duo out of Pleasanton, to organize ground searches in and around the Berkeley campus. Search for missing Rice University student in Berkeley this weekend – East Bay Times He was eventually found in a classroom building at night on the UC Berkeley campus where he had lived in the bushes around classroom buildings in August 2008.

With0ut all of these details that were revealed, I doubt he would have been found. He drastically changed his appearance, but without a lot of the information that was revealed in the process, I doubt he would have been located. If this information had not been widely published, when the UC Berkeley police found him in the classroom building where he provided a fake name, I think they would not have realized he was a missing student from Rice.

 

[10ofRods]

They might not need any assistance. If foul play is involved, they may know exactly who they want to pin down. These things take time to gather enough proof for an arrest and successful prosecution.
Sometimes we see arrests after 1/2/3 years in cases I have followed here.

Then LE sent the wrong message. They asked for assistance and said that all they knew is that her phone last pinged in Crissy Field.

I have heard of no appeal to local merchants (such as they are right now) for video.

I'm going to be very, very surprised if SFPD hasn't just filed this among the many other missing persons reports and have no clue what happened.

(I'm usually pro LE, but as a former San Franciscan, I have my doubts). It's tough streets for sure - and the "solved murder" rate is questionable, given that SFPD leaves so many missing people in limbo.

OTOH, if they know she was living with friends and those friends are either suspects or have provided a viable suspect, then yes, they might find that person.

SFPD is very focused on its annual numbers (having been highly criticized and faces reorganization). If the case is going to take 2-3 years, will they ever solve it? Because the numbers they file with the FBI are annual. They don't even publish their "missing persons cases" solved numbers where it's easy to find them.

They "solve" all murders, but they use the exception process ("we know who it is, but we can't charge them").

 

[10ofRods]

Her casual attire doesn’t support this theory, but what if she was on her way home from a night out? I’ve been assuming that “before sunrise” meant that she was starting her day early, but it would not be unusual for a young person to be heading hone to bed at that time. Racking my brain!! Any thoughts?

Depression, anxiety, insomnia, bipolar. No reason to think she was "heading home to bed." If she had a regular place to stay, we don't know about it...nor have her roommates spoke up.

 

[elisimo]

Depression, anxiety, insomnia, bipolar. No reason to think she was "heading home to bed." If she had a regular place to stay, we don't know about it...nor have her roommates spoke up.

I was thinking she could have been out partying into the early hours...but I guess bars/clubs are closed bc of covid. I also doubt she would have been wearing a sweatshirt, leggings, and Vans for a night out on the town. Just considering different reasons a 19 year old college student might be walking around “before sunrise.”

ETA: bipolar is an interesting theory. She could have had a manic episode - one might consider her withdrawal from school as an impulsive act (though we obviously don’t know her state of mind)