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

[siliconda]

The incoming AM commute traffic from Marin to SF is on the side of the bridge that is the other side away from the pedestrian walkway. The outbound PM commute side is the one next to the pedestrian sidewalk which is usually empty or near empty during the early morning hours. Also traffic is light overall because many SF companies have employees working from home.

Alsohere is an article from the Patch: Missing Ex-Cal Student Last Seen On Golden Gate Bridge

Can't be sure what the conditions were exactly that morning she was last seen but in my experience traffic hasn't been that light commuting to SF even during COVID (esp at 6:30-6:45AM for some reason that's usually when I get stuck in a 20-30 minute slowdown which really surprised me - I thought traffic would be lighter due to work from home). From videos online it looks like there's a decent number of bikers on the other side of the bridge. It feels like with the cameras + traffic that it seems unlikely she would've jumped without being seen by someone during/after (at least I would hope so)

 

[elisimo]

It feels like with the cameras + traffic that it seems unlikely she would've jumped without being seen by someone during/after (at least I would hope so)

Yes, and I think (and would hope!) that if someone saw her jump, they would report it immediately. It’s not something that would dawn on you a month later!

 

[crhedBngr]

Yes, and I think (and would hope!) that if someone saw her jump, they would report it immediately. It’s not something that would dawn on you a month later!

I do believe someone would report a jumper (off GGB) immediately.

JMVHO.

 

[10ofRods]

Can't be sure what the conditions were exactly that morning she was last seen but in my experience traffic hasn't been that light commuting to SF even during COVID (esp at 6:30-6:45AM for some reason that's usually when I get stuck in a 20-30 minute slowdown which really surprised me - I thought traffic would be lighter due to work from home). From videos online it looks like there's a decent number of bikers on the other side of the bridge. It feels like with the cameras + traffic that it seems unlikely she would've jumped without being seen by someone during/after (at least I would hope so)

I think it could happen very quickly and that there would not be much traffic on the east side of the bridge, where the pedestrian walkway is. If it was also foggy, that's a factor as well. It sounds like the cameras may have picked her up (they don't cover every inch of the bridge, as I understand it). At any rate, the Patch particle says she was seen on the bridge after the phone ping at Crissy Field.

Almost certainly someone saw her, but whether they remember her is a different matter. If she appeared to be about to jump, people would notice and remember, but she may not have been obvious about her intentions. She is also tall and very athletic and quick.

 

[Emi]

Vigil Held for Missing Pleasanton Resident
some photos from last Thursday's vigil in Pleasanton

 

[ElizabethAnne]

Today's issue of the Pleasanton Weekly p. 6 https://www.pleasantonweekly.com/morguepdf/2020/2020_10_30.pls.section1.pdf

Sounds like from the quote about the targeted search of Crissy Field 'likely to not bear fruit' that by Oct 22 that they knew Crissy Field was not the last location, but had been notified instead the Golden Gate bridge was. At least that is how I interpret it.

 

[NSamuelle]

Agreed -- I'm also perplexed by the timing of this new information about the bridge sighting. It must have been a new tip that just came in. Otherwise, why not release this information a month ago? Neither the family nor the police have ever seemed to want the public's help, leading many of us to the conclusion that they believe she jumped from the get go so I don't understand why they wouldn't have released this information previously if they had it.

JMO, but they didn’t act like this was new information in the video (e.g., didn’t say anything like “we have learned that..”) and instead said that a lot of people have been asking for updates. Almost like they were reluctant to release those updates. On the chance that Syd got in a car or walked off the bridge, they may be slow-rolling any information that paints her as suicidal or at risk of self-harm, in order to protect and encourage her to come home. I can’t blame or judge them for that approach, if that’s the case. The stigma of mental illness is heavy, and they have a young daughter to protect as well.

 

[Kaligirl]

Sounds like an earlier CCTV has Syd with a backpack and the last one on the bridge does not. If she ditched the backpack, someone would find it....but I suppose there are many homeless, etc that might just pick it up and add it to their shopping cart. The fog on the bridge can be so dense you cannot see the car in front of you, So it's possible you wouldn't see something from the road but there is usually a fair amount of people jogging etc at 6:45-7. I can see why the family won't give up until they have an answer -- there is hope, even if it's slim that she walked to the Marin side or got into a car on the bridge. Really hoping the family gets closure one way or another...heartbreaking in so many ways.

 

[Vail]

Honestly the most effective thing they should be doing is getting her friends on the media telling stories of good memories, sharing her photos around SF and Berkeley and interviewing homeless or other people who frequent that area. Giving the public vague information does nothing but feed the rumor mill. Now everyone will think she jumped and not bother searching. How was she seen? By who? A person or a camera? Is this a credible sighting? Is this just a new interpretation of "in Crissy Field" and "GGB" and its possible she wasn't there at all but this is a phone ping from the nearby tower we're talking about? Who last heard from her at 6:45 and did they actually hear from her or was it a text? If she was actually seen on camera on the GGB, why not release the footage to help commuters remember if they saw her or not? Which direction was she walking?

 

[NSamuelle]

The lack of any information coming from her friends/roommates/acquaintances is very confusing. It makes me think they have been asked not to talk.

 

[Mamabear2525]

JMO, but they didn’t act like this was new information in the video (e.g., didn’t say anything like “we have learned that..”) and instead said that a lot of people have been asking for updates. Almost like they were reluctant to release those updates. On the chance that Syd got in a car or walked off the bridge, they may be slow-rolling any information that paints her as suicidal or at risk of self-harm, in order to protect and encourage her to come home. I can’t blame or judge them for that approach, if that’s the case. The stigma of mental illness is heavy, and they have a young daughter to protect as well.

I certainly am not blaming or judging her parents and apologize if it came across that way. You make a good point about not wanting to make her look suicidal if they don't believe that's what happened. Otherwise, I'm not sure why they would come out now with different information about her last known location if they had it all along.

@Vail -- completely agree. I understand trying to protect her privacy, but the vague details seem to add more fuel to the fire and lessen the chances that somebody will remember something a month later.

 

[ElizabethAnne]

I think it could happen very quickly and that there would not be much traffic on the east side of the bridge, where the pedestrian walkway is. If it was also foggy, that's a factor as well. It sounds like the cameras may have picked her up (they don't cover every inch of the bridge, as I understand it). At any rate, the Patch particle says she was seen on the bridge after the phone ping at Crissy Field.

Almost certainly someone saw her, but whether they remember her is a different matter. If she appeared to be about to jump, people would notice and remember, but she may not have been obvious about her intentions. She is also tall and very athletic and quick.

No one saw Allison Bayliss jump even though it was light and after 10 AM in the morning. If they did, it was not reported. Also during windy days, the Golden Gate bridge has been making a weird humming noise since the beginning of June due to new railings. This can be heard miles away at times. If it was making the noise that day, it would have covered up the noise on impact so even those that work on the bridge may have heard nothing. If individuals are identified as being about to jump, they are taken off of the Golden Gate Bridge and are transported to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation pursuant to Section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code as described on pp.8-9 in https://www.goldengate.org/assets/1/6/suicide-deterrent-feir-appendices.pdf (warning this takes a while to load and is over 400 pages).

 

[NSamuelle]

@Mamabear2525, you didn’t sound judgey/blamey at all. I agree with you. I think I share everyone’s frustration that more information hasn’t been released. We’re not asking for her diary entries, but it would be really good to know basic details about where she was living, whether she had access to a car, etc.

 

[elisimo]

Honestly the most effective thing they should be doing is getting her friends on the media telling stories of good memories, sharing her photos around SF and Berkeley

Agree. This would be a compelling technique if she had disappeared voluntarily, IMO.

 

[SouthAussie]

So, I finished The Boy Between last night. By author Amanda Prowse and her 19 year old son, Josh.
What a harrowing journey it is for parents of children who are suffering with depression.

The final part from Josh in the book says that it wasn't until his ever loving, ever supportive, ever there, stepfather collapsed in wracking tears that Josh finally opened his eyes a little and agreed to try to change his life.
His mum cried often, her tears had lost their effect - in fact, her tears angered him.
His family had reached their limit ... a limit he hadn't even realised was there.

Step number one. Leave University. With the full support of all family and friends. Don't try to comply with what society says you should do, even though you are intensely clever.
And with that one decision - one Josh had previously heavily resisted - a weight came off his shoulders and progress began. He will likely always have this mental illness, but now he is well on the road to it becoming manageable.

His last message ... on that one day that you want to kill yourself, remember that the next day you might not want to (as happened with him, multiple times) ... please, please don't do it.

 

[SFDukie]

I don't like the sound of this.

Praying she is found soon.

JMVHO.

ETA: How heavy is traffic at that time on the bridge? I know a lot of people are working from home, but surely there is some traffic at 7:45 a.m.

There's a moderate, steady stream of traffic in both directions at that time of day. Northbound traffic (out of SF) more likely to notice someone on the east side of the bridge.

FWIW, it was just after low tide between 6:45 & 7 am on 9/30. Very little current under the bridge then. Would have been presunrise twilight. Don't know fog situation that am.

 

[SFDukie]

So now we have a pic of Syd with her hair up and with her glasses on, as well as with her hair pulled back and no glasses. These may be useful to any commuters, cyclists, joggers, walkers who were in that area between 6:45 and 7 am on Wednesday 30th September.

I hope that people can remember back a month ago. I hope that for some reason Syd stuck in their memory.

Being foggy, maybe she had the hood of her teal coloured hoodie over her head?

View attachment 269836 View attachment 269837

Parents of San Francisco woman who went missing release new video
Please contact SF Police 415-575-4444 and our private investigator at 925-705-8328

Such a future, appears so happy and at ease in these pictures.

 

[SFDukie]

I don't know about the GGB in specific but going across the Bay Bridge at 6:45AM was a total nightmare for me (cars literally not even moving). Seems like it would be the same if not worse for GGB although the fog there is pretty infamous. Still though it seems weird to jump on a bridge full of cars that might be moving at a snail's pace?

GGB traffic is much lighter than BB around 7 am. Fridays are usually lighter than other weekdays.

 

[Baciagalupo]

No one saw Allison Bayliss jump even though it was light and after 10 AM in the morning. If they did, it was not reported.

Opinion: Mental Health First-Aid Training Could Have Saved My Daughter’s Life

We were not allowed to watch the video footage from the Golden Gate Bridge that morning confirming Alliy had jumped. However, a police officer confirmed that she left us at 10:17 a.m. on the morning of May 23, 2011. She was only 15 years old.

 

[SFDukie]

Yes, and I think (and would hope!) that if someone saw her jump, they would report it immediately. It’s not something that would dawn on you a month later!

I've literally been in the water, underneath the bridge, and been unaware that someone jumped. the bridge is the better part of two miles long. In thick fog, one may not see 100 feet away. Even in clear weather, it can be windy, and there are traffic sounds and variable noise from waves. I'd guess there wasn't a significant swell that am, but there may have been. Decent odds that someone was in the water at 7 am, but also decent odds that they'd be oblivious to a jumper.