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

[Birdie1212]

That's discouraging overall, and especially as pertains to Sydney. If I were her family and friends, I'd get "feet on the street" ASAP to put up fliers and maybe informal searches of where they think she was last seen. Perhaps her Uncle who lives nearby can spearhead the effort. It's possible she's voluntary missing, but also possibly in danger. I wouldn't want to take any chances or rely on LE in such a large city.

My feelings exactly. Feet on the street.

 

[Birdie1212]

BBM

I still don’t understand why we aren’t hearing something from her friends that last saw her. Maybe LE is stifling them due to the investigation.

Yes, it is noticeable. There must be a reason the information is limited. Most cases like this have more background story. So, it’s common sense to think there is withheld information. Maybe some sensitive information. With each passing day I have to say it’s distressing and feels bleak to me. But, you never know. I hate to give up hope.

 

[kelsie]

 

[Kaligirl]

I'm wondering about the black backpack. Did she have it with her? Did she have her phone and wallet with her? What was left behind, where was she staying, and what is missing? So many unanswered questions but these are items that we should be looking for. They also updated her last seen from Crissy Field to near Golden Gate Bridge. Praying for her safe return.

 

[SouthAussie]

I'm wondering about the black backpack. Did she have it with her? Did she have her phone and wallet with her? What was left behind, where was she staying, and what is missing? So many unanswered questions but these are items that we should be looking for. Praying for her safe return.

I agree. And to keep an eye out for those items, descriptions of the items need to be published.

Unless they feel confident that Syd disappeared voluntarily, and are not concerned that her personal items were discarded somewhere.

 

[ElizabethAnne]

I have been looking at the Berkeley subreddit on Reddit and there are a number of students asking what the process if for withdrawing for a semester or dropping all classes for a semester. I've manually gone through many of them and wonder whether Sydney posted any question about this on Reddit before she decided to leave Berkeley this fall. Has anyone found any other UserID other than insyderator that she may have used for Reddit?

 

[Kaligirl]

Looks like she deferred until 2021- which is a fairly normal occurrence for the class of 2024. Syd posted her stats which were was well within the scores/grades to qualify for UCB. Since she posted that it was expensive OOS and her parents were not sure, speculation of foul play in admission does not seem likely. I have a 2024 at anther college who also applied OOS and got into UCB with a 20k scholarship and her stats were not far off from Sydney. I just want this kid found and safe!

 

[ocsalumni]

Looks like she deferred until 2021- which is a fairly normal occurrence for the class of 2024. Syd posted her stats which were was well within the scores/grades to qualify for UCB. Since she posted that it was expensive OOS and her parents were not sure, speculation of foul play in admission does not seem likely. I have a 2024 at anther college who also applied OOS and got into UCB with a 20k scholarship and her stats were not far off from Sydney. I just want this kid found and safe!

Wait, where are you seeing that she deferred? I've only seen sources saying that she's a former UCB student. Is something new out? Or did you see it on Reddit where the test scores were?

 

[ElizabethAnne]

According to Robert West (the uncle) who was quoted in the Raleigh News and Observer, he and her father moved Sydney into the dorms at UC Berkeley at the beginning of the Fall semester in August. He went back to see her once (Robert West). https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article246239320.html says a day or so after she moved in.

She did not defer enrolling in the Fall 2020. UC Berkeley does not grant many deferments and they are granted the semester before the deferment is requested. She moved into the dorms at UC Berkeley in August 2020 at some point. It was probably a single occupancy room to meet social distancing requirements.

There are no roommates at the UCs this semester in dorms that I am aware of, unless they are possibly located in far off counties not under public health COVID rules. For COVID, all are single occupancy I believe. The same goes for CSUs. Also at least for UCs within counties with certain tier levels, all food in dining halls is to-go because indoor dining is not allowed right now in many counties. Students are in their rooms attending online, unless they have a specific reduced size lab class that they must attend.

It sounds like from Robert West that he and his brother traveled to Berkeley to move Sydney into the dorms in August 2020 . There is no mention of the mother being there. Whether she dropped all the classes, canceled her enrollment once there, or withdrew is unknown, but her name is not in the campus directory.

 

[ElizabethAnne]

<modsnip>

Berkeley only accepts request for deferments between 4/15 and 6/15. Therefore they do not process requests for deferments outside of that timeframe. The mother is saying Sydney deferred after the Summer term, but UC Berkeley does not accept requests for deferments outside the 4/15-6/15 window. The uncle is quoted in the Raleigh N&O that Sydney moved into the dorm in August 2020 for the Fall semester. She did not defer her enrollment. Here is what it says on the Berkeley FAQ page:

"Q: May I defer my admission to next fall?
Q: I have been admitted to the fall term. May I defer my admission to spring?
A: The Office of Undergraduate Admission rarely approves requests to defer admission to a future term or academic year. However, students who would like to request a deferral of enrollment may submit the Request for Deferment form. The Request for Deferment form will be available from April 15 to June 15, 2020. You will receive a response to your request for deferment by July 31, 2020."

Again, if she requested the deferment between 4/15-6/15 and heard by 7/31 the deferment was accepted, why was she moving into the dorm at UC Berkeley in August 2020?

It sounds to me as if she was there at the beginning of the Fall term, moved in the dorm with help from her father and his brother Robert West, and then withdrew.

 

[Birdie1212]

<modsnip>
Are most Bay Area people wearing masks when out walking in the city? Her photos then become less helpful. If, for example, people know more about where she was before heading to Chrissy Field, or that she lived in one particular neighborhood or district, or worked on a particular street, this information might be helpful. Certainly a backpack would help identify her. Or maybe there is an area of town she frequents? Even though they say she intended to go to Chrissy Field, no one says where she was before that. They don’t say if she told someone she was going there or if it was a phone locator assessment. They don’t say why she was going there. There’s just nothing to go on. She doesn’t seem to be connected to any people who might have understood anything about her at that time. It’s heartbreaking. I understand and respect a family’s wish to protect privacy and image, but in this instance it seems misguided and counter productive to finding her. Maybe they have a private detective on it. If it’s true that literally no one on this planet had a bead on this young woman at all, no one talked to her, hung out with her, understood her state of mind, then poor baby. Just crushing. Who reported her missing, I wonder? And how did anyone ascertain she was missing? Did she have a home or people who would miss her? If the public understands more of the picture then they are more likely to identify with her. And when people identify more with her they are more likely to remember her if they saw or see her. I’m not in San Francisco so I can’t be a useful pair of eyes. However, if anyone connected to her family or the case reads these posts, then I would strongly suggest that it may be best at this juncture to be more transparent if there are details being held back. Otherwise, they are asking the general public to remember or recognize her, a woman possibly wearing a mask that obscured or obscures her face, based solely on her association to UC or Chrissy Field - and black leggings and Vans. And, for a number of crucial days the public was told she was wearing shorts. It’s painfully clear that Syd was at least a tiny bit disconnected and isolated.

 

[Bridger]

Berkeley only accepts request for deferments between 4/15 and 6/15. Therefore they do not process requests for deferments outside of that timeframe. The mother is saying Sydney deferred after the Summer term, but UC Berkeley does not accept requests for deferments outside the 4/15-6/15 window.

Don’t you think covid issues might have led to Berkeley relaxing those standards a bit, if only on an informal basis? Colleges have much less power in their relationships with students these days. If a newly enrolled student decides she is not getting the college experience her $50 grand or so is supposed to be paying for, I imagine most schools would stretch their rules a little and approve a deferral.

That makes more sense to me than thinking Sydney’s mother is mistaken or obfuscating.

 

[distracted]

.
Are most Bay Area people wearing masks when out walking in the city? Her photos then become less helpful. If, for example, people know more about where she was before heading to Chrissy Field, or that she lived in one particular neighborhood or district, or worked on a particular street, this information might be helpful. Certainly a backpack would help identify her. Or maybe there is an area of town she frequents? Even though they say she intended to go to Chrissy Field, no one says where she was before that. They don’t say if she told someone she was going there or if it was a phone locator assessment. They don’t say why she was going there. There’s just nothing to go on. She doesn’t seem to be connected to any people who might have understood anything about her at that time. It’s heartbreaking. I understand and respect a family’s wish to protect privacy and image, but in this instance it seems misguided and counter productive to finding her. Maybe they have a private detective on it. If it’s true that literally no one on this planet had a bead on this young woman at all, no one talked to her, hung out with her, understood her state of mind, then poor baby. Just crushing. Who reported her missing, I wonder? And how did anyone ascertain she was missing? Did she have a home or people who would miss her? If the public understands more of the picture then they are more likely to identify with her. And when people identify more with her they are more likely to remember her if they saw or see her. I’m not in San Francisco so I can’t be a useful pair of eyes. However, if anyone connected to her family or the case reads these posts, then I would strongly suggest that it may be best at this juncture to be more transparent if there are details being held back. Otherwise, they are asking the general public to remember or recognize her, a woman possibly wearing a mask that obscured or obscures her face, based solely on her association to UC or Chrissy Field - and black leggings and Vans. And, for a number of crucial days the public was told she was wearing shorts. It’s painfully clear that Syd was at least a tiny bit disconnected and isolated.

In CA it is a requirement by our Governor to wear a mask at all times in public, inside or outside. The shutdown orders for SF have been particularly harsh. And lengthy.

So, it's a very valid point you make. I imagine she was wearing a mask. I can't believe that didn't occur to me.

If she was seen, the identification must have been by clothing and hair color - although if she was walking alone on the beach, for instance, she might have felt comfortable taking it off.

 

[Anicole]

Huh ... my hinky meter just keeps spiking over certain people connected to this case.

I haven't read the FSW FB page or any other media coverage other than what is posted on this thread, so I have absolutely no printed proof ... just the hinky spike.

I hope I'm wrong and I hope she is found.

 

[Vacajoe]

Don’t you think covid issues might have led to Berkeley relaxing those standards a bit, if only on an informal basis?

Cal gets about 100,000 applicants per year - they don’t need to relax their standards or change their rules. In fact, they always have a robust waitlist that never gets exhausted, so I’d stick with the “no deferral” train of thought.

 

[ElizabethAnne]

Don’t you think covid issues might have led to Berkeley relaxing those standards a bit, if only on an informal basis? Colleges have much less power in their relationships with students these days. If a newly enrolled student decides she is not getting the college experience her $50 grand or so is supposed to be paying for, I imagine most schools would stretch their rules a little and approve a deferral.

That makes more sense to me than thinking Sydney’s mother is mistaken or obfuscating.

Colleges and universities and community colleges in CA had 'extradordinary withdrawals' in the Spring 2020 semester, allowing students to withdraw late or move classes to PNP after the deadline had passed. Most public schools allowed students to change grading from grade to PNP for Spring. However, for Fall 2020, the only thing I am aware the UCs did was allow for late cancellation of campus housing contracts. The UCs are part of a system of UCs and each are not independent of the system regardless of whether it is UCLA, UCB, UCSB, UCSD, UC Merced, UC Davis, UC Irvine or UC Santa Cruz. For example, if a student signed up for on campus housing and reserved a spot, they were allowed to cancel as late as August. That means that they would take classes remotely.

 

[ElizabethAnne]

Cal gets about 100,000 applicants per year - they don’t need to relax their standards or change their rules. In fact, they always have a robust waitlist that never gets exhausted, so I’d stick with the “no deferral” train of thought.

Agreed. Also Spring 2021 at UC Berkeley will be substantially the same as Fall 2020 at UC Berkeley UC Berkeley announces plans for the spring 2021 semester

 

[ElizabethAnne]

Huh ... my hinky meter just keeps spiking over certain people connected to this case.

I haven't read the FSW FB page or any other media coverage other than what is posted on this thread, so I have absolutely no printed proof ... just the hinky spike.

I hope I'm wrong and I hope she is found.

Some press releases say she was recently living with friends in the "San Francisco area." There has been no disclosure of what neighborhood she was living in, whether it was in the exact location of San Francisco, or the Bay Area in general. No one knows if the "San Francisco area" means a suburb or not, and if so which one. This is very different than when Allison Bayliss, a 15 year old high school student from Danville CA/San Ramon Valley High was missing. Within hours, hundreds were out searching for her locally, in BART or in the Golden Gate bridge area.

 

[technicallymissing]

Cal gets about 100,000 applicants per year - they don’t need to relax their standards or change their rules. In fact, they always have a robust waitlist that never gets exhausted, so I’d stick with the “no deferral” train of thought.

I suppose if she had perhaps told her parents she was deferring (maybe to buy herself some time before any fallout that would come from dropping out) her parents would know by now that was not the case from LE or the school itself? I’m still trying to make a voluntary disappearance make sense.

 

[momsof3]

SBM BBM
And, for a number of crucial days the public was told she was wearing shorts. It’s painfully clear that Syd was at least a tiny bit disconnected and isolated.

Totally agree with this. Add this to the fact that she was last seen on September 30 and not reported missing until October 4 and there is no information on the exact location she was staying in San Francisco. How long was she off everyone's radar?

My guess is she was in a distressed state of mind - it is obvious from her Reddit account that Cal wasn't a top choice, the gap year didn't really pan out the way she wanted and then to wind up dropping out of Cal (perhaps she deferred, dropped out seems more likely/accurate, either way nothing to fill the days). Then to be off everyone's radar for at least 4 days before anyone noticed enough to take action. Even now, where are the organized searches? Feet on the street? They must have contacts in the area - they lived there up until 2 years ago. I hope lots and lots is going on that we don't know about.

Some press releases say she was recently living with friends in the "San Francisco area." There has been no disclosure of what neighborhood she was living in, whether it was in the exact location of San Francisco, or the Bay Area in general. No one knows if the "San Francisco area" means a suburb or not, and if so which one. This is very different than when Allison Bayliss, a 15 year old high school student from Danville CA/San Ramon Valley High was missing. Within hours, hundreds were out searching for her locally, in BART or in the Golden Gate bridge area.

Yes, so very different from many other missing teens/young adults like Allison Bayliss and Alex Holden. Found Deceased - CA - Alex Holden, 25, Sacramento, 31 Dec 2019

It really breaks my heart.