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

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  • #101
I don't know much about San Francisco except of course, admiring the Golden Gate Bridge and unfortunately what it's known for - suicides. I think they've installed prevention barriers now but don't know if they're 100% effective.

Crissy Field:

(Surely someone would have seen her if she was on the bridge, right?)

The bridge has full CCTV and is heavily travelled so the chance of her jumping and no one knowing about it is really slim.

As it is now, there is next to no information that allows us to be helpful at all, other than the photos of Sydney's lovely self. Here is a short summary of what we don't know:

1. - exactly who reported her missing. We can assume her mother reported her to the NC police originally, and her uncle then filed a report with SFPD. SFPD only state 'family'reported her missing.

2. - who saw her wearing those clothes and when. This could be the last time her uncle saw her, so who actually knows what she was wearing?

3. - what the locaton method is for Crissy field. I did read a comment on a family member FB that it was a phone ping, which would explain why SFPD says 'last believed to be in the area of Crissy field on Sept 30"

4. - who she was living with. There doesn't seem to be an outpouring of friends saying anything publicly about her being missing except the one calling Syd her best friend on Syd's last instagram post, and I haven't found any further trace of her interacting with anyone local to SF online in the last year (that is not to say she has no friends, just that there isn't the kind of activity you normally see).

5. - whether she is in a relationship

6. - who last saw her physically and where. who last spoke to her on the phone or got a text and when.

7. - when she moved out of her dorm and where she has been staying and with who

8. - whether anyone at the university was expecting her and she didn't show (ie was she supposed to meet with a counsellor, register for classes, sign up for an account or anything like that and missed it?) or whether she formally withdrew. It sounds like her family didn't know that, but it isn't really clear. I think this is a big clue - if her things were just gone from her dorm and nobody saw her leave vs her dormmates knew but her family didn't. It is really possible she just hasn't called home in a couple weeks? No matter how close families are, it is not always unusual for someone to just not get in touch for awhile.

9. - whether there is CCTV. She was only reported missing 3 days ago so my guess is LE are working on this part now.

10. -Unfortunately syd doesn't have a regular or frequent pattern of online activity that we can see, so we don't know if she's dropped off since a certain date or not. What is clear is that she and a huge number of her friends stopped posting publicly to FB and other SM at the end of 2019 so she may have another profile or has just stopped using SM. This can definitely be a sign of depression but can also just be that she is too busy with RL friends.

So as it is now, all we know is a 19 year old young woman living in SF as an adult of her own free will may have chosen not to enroll for fall semester at Berkeley, had very recently begun living with 'a friend' in the SF area, hasn't called mom or uncle in over a week and last had her phone on in Crissy Field.

Is it possible Syd just lost her phone? Does she have a laptop or other means of accessing the internet to contact people? I can imagine a lot of bad things that could have happened, but I can also imagine Syd just being 19 and having other things on her mind other than calling mom, especially if she didn't tell them about college and is avoiding that discussion. She could be on a road trip with friends or something innocuous as well - the conditions in SF are really horrible, a friend of mine recently left there because it is so bad - the best e can hope for is she fell in love and is off escaping the anxiety that everyone elses expectations cause. I think it may be helpful for her parents to make a public statement that is focused on Syd and expresses how much they want her to be safe and that everything is OK and they support her vs how scared or terrified they are or that they want her to come "home" (Syd doesn't seem to want to be 'home' in NC). Just a thought.
 
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  • #102
This article is from yesterday. You may hit a paywall, though.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article246239320.html

Family, friends worry as San Francisco, NC police search for missing Berkeley student

Excerpts:

Monday, Jay and Kimberly West, her parents, added their own plea for help finding their daughter, known to family and friends as Syd. Her uncle Robert West, who lives in California, said the family may hold a search or vigil this week for the young woman.

(SNIP)

Robert West last saw his niece in August, when he helped his brother, Jay West, move her into a dorm at Berkeley. They are a large and close-knit family who visit each other often, Robert West said. He dropped by a day or so later to check on Sydney and bring some food, he said.

“She was having a hard time,” he said. “That’s a tough adjustment, and she never had been away from home. I think it was a pretty scary move and quite a bit of anxiety for her.”

Attending school at Berkeley was a return to California for Sydney. She grew up in the Bay Area, attending Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., where she played softball and volleyball.

In 2017, her family moved to Chapel Hill, and she spent her junior and senior years at Carrboro High School. She was co-captain of the varsity volleyball team.

She wasn’t admitted into her first choice for college, so she took a gap year in 2019 after graduating to travel and spend time with her parents and her 10-year-old sister, friends and family said.

[More at link.]

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article246239320.html#storylink=cpy
From link.. rbbm.
''Sydney West is spontaneous and loves adventure — a young woman who had been excited for a fresh start at the University of California at Berkeley, friends and family said.''

Reminded of this young woman, reliable but (known to be spontaneous/likes adventure ect. who went missing from her job at an airport and after much searching, reviewing cctv ect. not to mention a very full thread for her here at Ws, was located safe and sound. She just needed to get away for awhile and de-stress. imo.
Missing airport Starbucks worker told officer she left because she was 'stressed out'
 
  • #103
From link.. rbbm.
''Sydney West is spontaneous and loves adventure — a young woman who had been excited for a fresh start at the University of California at Berkeley, friends and family said.''

Reminded of this young woman, reliable but (known to be spontaneous/likes adventure ect. who went missing from her job at an airport and after much searching, reviewing cctv ect. not to mention a very full thread for her here at Ws, was located safe and sound. She just needed to get away for awhile and de-stress. imo.
Missing airport Starbucks worker told officer she left because she was 'stressed out'

I'm hoping that Sydney will turn up safe like Allison did. Prayers for her and her loved ones.
 
  • #104
Syd, you are missed and very much loved!

So many are concerned about you.

Praying you are found soon.
 
  • #105
  • #106
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
 
  • #107
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 thought that first private account was hers! I just wasn't 100%. VERY interesting.
 
  • #108
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'm not really an Instagram user, what is the significance of the stuff in parentheses on the first account?
 
  • #109
I'm not really an Instagram user, what is the significance of the stuff in parentheses on the first account?
She is just telling people to follow her different accounts
 
  • #110
What do you think happened to her @BirdieB ?
 
  • #111
As I live in SF, I want to help solve this case and find Syd! I’m posting all of this information to help the fellow WS members dig in further to help solve the case.

To date, We don’t have a lot information provided by Cops or the family, but here is what I can gather from her social media accounts, which she has a lot of.

1) Cops check hospitals right away, so that’s out.

2)The bridge has cameras and bodies usually wash up within a couple days, so we would know that by now. However, suicide doesn’t always get reported in the news.

3) From Berkeley to Chrissy fields / GG bridge on public transportation is an all day adventure. 20 minutes to walk from the dorm to Bart. 30 minutes Bart from the downtown Berkeley station to Post Street station. Bus from post street to the marina district takes 30-40 minutes. Walk from the bus station to Chrissy fields 20 minutes or so. People are scared of Uber nowadays so thats out and that ride would be reallyexpensive for a College student. Anyways, did she get ride? If so, that person needs to come forward ASAP!

3) Her Medium posts definitely show signs of depression. She talks about being a perfectionist and not living up to her potential. Her Instagram title is “I peaked in grade school”. A normal 19 year old does not think that way. They are excited to go college, meet new friends, learn and grow, etc. She is clearly a really deep thinker and sitting at home during covid while all of friends are Off to college and enjoying their freshman year must have been tough to see the while sitting on her parents couch during covid.

4) why the gap year? What really happened? I’m not buying that she didn’t get into her top choice of college. This info would be helpful.

5) SF can be a hard place to meet new like minded people, especially during covid. Berkeley is a really competitive and demanding school, so that could lead to the depression snowballing.

6) She really puts herself out there online. She’s on almost every social media platform. Her poshmark has multiple photos of her in a bra. VSCO has photos just in her underwear. <modsnip: No link to substantiate> She also has three IG accounts. One is private and states that “this is for the good stuff”. Not sure what that means.

Also, her timeline for posting is super random. Like she goes dark for long periods of time. Is she posting to private accounts during those periods? What other people meeting sites is she on?

Given all of this, I think she went to Chrissy Field for a reason. I think the reason was to meet someone. Chrissy Field gets old and dark in the evening, so they probably left there together free-willing.

Where is she now? I don’t know, but someone does! They need to come forward ASAP!

Lets all keep the faith and the search alive!





Here’s her YouTube account.
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCjWWcB5UBT0ObAScaCsB57A/featured
 
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  • #112
Nice work @BirdieB. I really, really hope she needed a break and is somewhere safe. Normally, I would say that someone as close to her family as Syd seems to be wouldn’t put them through this agony. But several years ago I was very closely involved with the case of a 17 year old girl who disappeared from my town in late November, only to resurface in early March, having actually lived with total strangers all that time in another state. Circumstances made us pretty sure she had encountered foul play. Her home life was unhappy and she wanted to live with her Dad in another state. We encouraged her Dad to start a Facebook page devoted to finding her and post to her often, assuring her of his love. He did (even though he was sure she was dead), she saw it and eventually contacted him and went home with him. She’s doing well. Happy ending.

So I would encourage Syd’s family to do the same things with the Facebook page and not give up. And don’t let LE give up either. Did I read about a vigil somewhere? That will keep Syd in the news and she will see it and know that she is loved and valued. Even though I’ve seen more sad endings, I really hope for a happy ending for Syd.

As I live in SF, I want to help solve this case and find Syd! I’m posting all of this information to help the fellow WS members dig in further to help solve the case.

To date, We don’t have a lot information provided by Cops or the family, but here is what I can gather from her social media accounts, which she has a lot of.

1) Cops check hospitals right away, so that’s out.

2)The bridge has cameras and bodies usually wash up within a couple days, so we would know that by now. However, suicide doesn’t always get reported in the news.

3) From Berkeley to Chrissy fields / GG bridge on public transportation is an all day adventure. 20 minutes to walk from the dorm to Bart. 30 minutes Bart from the downtown Berkeley station to Post Street station. Bus from post street to the marina district takes 30-40 minutes. Walk from the bus station to Chrissy fields 20 minutes or so. People are scared of Uber nowadays so thats out and that ride would be reallyexpensive for a College student. Anyways, did she get ride? If so, that person needs to come forward ASAP!

3) Her Medium posts definitely show signs of depression. She talks about being a perfectionist and not living up to her potential. Her Instagram title is “I peaked in grade school”. A normal 19 year old does not think that way. They are excited to go college, meet new friends, learn and grow, etc. She is clearly a really deep thinker and sitting at home during covid while all of friends are Off to college and enjoying their freshman year must have been tough to see the while sitting on her parents couch during covid.

4) why the gap year? What really happened? I’m not buying that she didn’t get into her top choice of college. This info would be helpful.

5) SF can be a hard place to meet new like minded people, especially during covid. Berkeley is a really competitive and demanding school, so that could lead to the depression snowballing.

6) She really puts herself out there online. She’s on almost every social media platform. Her poshmark has multiple photos of her in a bra. VSCO has photos just in her underwear. <modsnip: No link to substantiate> She also has three IG accounts. One is private and states that “this is for the good stuff”. Not sure what that means.

Also, her timeline for posting is super random. Like she goes dark for long periods of time. Is she posting to private accounts during those periods? What other people meeting sites is she on?

Given all of this, I think she went to Chrissy Field for a reason. I think the reason was to meet someone. Chrissy Field gets old and dark in the evening, so they probably left there together free-willing.

Where is she now? I don’t know, but someone does! They need to come forward ASAP!

Lets all keep the faith and the search alive!





Here’s her YouTube account.
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCjWWcB5UBT0ObAScaCsB57A/featured
 
  • #113
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.
 
  • #114
In the video, it said she was staying with friends, so I assumed couch surfing. Her uncle lives in SF, I wonder if he knew she wasn't in school anymore.
 
  • #115
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.
I had that fleeting thought too, but only because of some unverified posts that have now been removed. So staving off that idea unless & until. Moo
 
  • #116
Since she grew up in Pleasanton, CA, which is a suburb of San Francisco, and had only been in North Carolina a year or less, it's likely she still has friends in the area - an area that she is familiar with.

I really hope that she called a friend, who picked her up, and she is just taking a break. It's probably not the case because she's been out of touch too long, but I'm still hoping.

It's another reminder to ask my kids for their passwords or some type of authorization to gain access to their phones if they should go missing.

I hope Sydney is found soon.
 
  • #117
As I live in SF, I want to help solve this case and find Syd! I’m posting all of this information to help the fellow WS members dig in further to help solve the case.

To date, We don’t have a lot information provided by Cops or the family, but here is what I can gather from her social media accounts, which she has a lot of.

1) Cops check hospitals right away, so that’s out.

2)The bridge has cameras and bodies usually wash up within a couple days, so we would know that by now. However, suicide doesn’t always get reported in the news.

3) From Berkeley to Chrissy fields / GG bridge on public transportation is an all day adventure. 20 minutes to walk from the dorm to Bart. 30 minutes Bart from the downtown Berkeley station to Post Street station. Bus from post street to the marina district takes 30-40 minutes. Walk from the bus station to Chrissy fields 20 minutes or so. People are scared of Uber nowadays so thats out and that ride would be reallyexpensive for a College student. Anyways, did she get ride? If so, that person needs to come forward ASAP!

3) Her Medium posts definitely show signs of depression. She talks about being a perfectionist and not living up to her potential. Her Instagram title is “I peaked in grade school”. A normal 19 year old does not think that way. They are excited to go college, meet new friends, learn and grow, etc. She is clearly a really deep thinker and sitting at home during covid while all of friends are Off to college and enjoying their freshman year must have been tough to see the while sitting on her parents couch during covid.

4) why the gap year? What really happened? I’m not buying that she didn’t get into her top choice of college. This info would be helpful.

5) SF can be a hard place to meet new like minded people, especially during covid. Berkeley is a really competitive and demanding school, so that could lead to the depression snowballing.

6) She really puts herself out there online. She’s on almost every social media platform. Her poshmark has multiple photos of her in a bra. VSCO has photos just in her underwear. <modsnip: No link to substantiate> She also has three IG accounts. One is private and states that “this is for the good stuff”. Not sure what that means.

Also, her timeline for posting is super random. Like she goes dark for long periods of time. Is she posting to private accounts during those periods? What other people meeting sites is she on?

Given all of this, I think she went to Chrissy Field for a reason. I think the reason was to meet someone. Chrissy Field gets old and dark in the evening, so they probably left there together free-willing.

Where is she now? I don’t know, but someone does! They need to come forward ASAP!

Lets all keep the faith and the search alive!





Here’s her YouTube account.
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCjWWcB5UBT0ObAScaCsB57A/featured
Ita how important it is to keep Syd’s story & search in msm! And that LE has prob searched hospitals by now. But have some different thoughts too...

#2- Laci Peterson’s body & baby’s remains took 4 months to wash to shore. Other examples- including folks that are never recovered at all exist- so not sure we can rule water out just yet.

#3 Ita very important to discover how Syd got to Crissy that day. Not ruling Uber or other expensive options out though. Her gap year was an expensive one- many would consider it to be trip of a lifetime. Guessing her family funded that. And likely funded out-of-state college plans. No indications money is an issue.

#3 Two Medium posts- one stood out, but sounded more self-critical than depressed, imo. I think normal to question one’s path & waiver in self-confidence at her age. It was one post quite a ways back. Not sure it’s that significant to conclude there were serious issues with depression. Could have been one frustrated week- blip in time.

#4 Gap year seems typical. So many kids do this these days. I’ve seen no reports of what her first choice college was, or how many schools she applied to, or how many rejections she did/didn’t receive, so no reason to think this was a significant issue?

#6 Very common for young adults to have many SM accounts these days. Often more than one within the same platform. Pretty typical, imo.

I‘m thinking it’s very early on, with extremely limited info, to draw too many conclusions, or rule significant ideas in or out. The first thing I hope we get cleared up is how she got to CF- this could be very helpful at this stage, imo.
 
  • #118
Ita how important it is to keep Syd’s story & search in msm! And that LE has prob searched hospitals by now. But have some different thoughts too...

#2- Laci Peterson’s body & baby’s remains took 4 months to wash to shore. Other examples- including folks that are never recovered at all exist- so not sure we can rule water out just yet.

#3 Ita very important to discover how Syd got to Crissy that day. Not ruling Uber or other expensive options out though. Her gap year was an expensive one- many would consider it to be trip of a lifetime. Guessing her family funded that. And likely funded out-of-state college plans. No indications money is an issue.

#3 Two Medium posts- one stood out, but sounded more self-critical than depressed, imo. I think normal to question one’s path & waiver in self-confidence at her age. It was one post quite a ways back. Not sure it’s that significant to conclude there were serious issues with depression. Could have been one frustrated week- blip in time.

#4 Gap year seems typical. So many kids do this these days. I’ve seen no reports of what her first choice college was, or how many schools she applied to, or how many rejections she did/didn’t receive, so no reason to think this was a significant issue?

#6 Very common for young adults to have many SM accounts these days. Often more than one within the same platform. Pretty typical, imo.

I‘m thinking it’s very early on, with extremely limited info, to draw too many conclusions, or rule significant ideas in or out. The first thing I hope we get cleared up is how she got to CF- this could be very helpful at this stage, imo.
"The first thing I hope we get cleared up is how she got to CF- this could be very helpful at this stage, imo"


If she was already in SF then it would be very easy to take public transit to CF. SF is very well laid out in terms of mass transit. Most people use it.

Also, she could use BART to get to the CF area.

[the Presidio stop is 2 min walk from Crissy Field]
Did you know San Francisco's Presidio is BARTable? Ride BART to Embarcadero Station and transfer to the PresidiGo Downtown Shuttle. The excursion is fun, fast (25 minutes), and most of all, the most convenient way to visit an urban national park.

Free PresidiGo Shuttle connects BART riders to Presidio | BARTable
 
  • #119
I was drawn to post here because I am living in San Francisco and the above-mentioned quote from Sydney's blog spoke to me.

I wanted to note that having more than one Instagram is quite common among younger people. There's a more public-facing Instagram, and a "finsta" or "fake Instagram" account that is less curated and more candid/fun. The finsta is generally reserved for your inner circle of friends so that your Great Aunt from Iowa doesn't see you skinny-dipping or drinking a 40 on a fraternity house roof. I don't think it's a sign of anything nefarious that Sydney had more than one.
 
  • #120
I was drawn to post here because I am living in San Francisco and the above-mentioned quote from Sydney's blog spoke to me.

I wanted to note that having more than one Instagram is quite common among younger people. There's a more public-facing Instagram, and a "finsta" or "fake Instagram" account that is less curated and more candid/fun. The finsta is generally reserved for your inner circle of friends so that your Great Aunt from Iowa doesn't see you skinny-dipping or drinking a 40 on a fraternity house roof. I don't think it's a sign of anything nefarious that Sydney had more than one.
I agree but I wonder if the photos on the private account can give us clues to where she is...
 
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