CA CA - Sydney “Syd” West, 19, Univ of CA student, San Francisco, 30 Sep 2020 #2
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I think you summed it up so well when you said, “there should be less “spin” and more plain facts and truth”. Jmo
ElizabethAnne
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If she had been at one time after dropping out of Cal living with family friends or couch surfing, perhaps she was kicked out because once the parents found out where they were, they stepped in and made whoever her hosts were make her find somewhere else to live.
The last night she was heard from she stayed in a hotel, which was an information item that came 5-6 months after she became missing. This makes me feel very sad. It is almost as if she had no place to go but her only choice was to check in to a hotel. This is so sad. It is so sad I literally tear up when I think about it.
It makes me cry, too. Sydney’s friend said she stayed with a high school friend right after she dropped out, but then the friend went to college and Sydney was essentially homeless, just bouncing around.
Ouch. In so many MP circumstances, families will say that it is unlikely that the MP would run away. It’s telling that they’re considering it so heavily.
Have they given specific details about what they saw from the camera footage at the GGB? I know that she was apparently spotted at one point, but was not seen leaving. Was the later footage obscured by the fog, or was it clear enough to see if she left or not?
I really hope she went for a walk on the bridge, turned back around, and got picked up by a friend/took a bus somewhere. Don’t know how probable that is though...
genuineusa77
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MOO She missed that area where she grew up so much, she didn't want to leave. I'm thinking she hung around until she thought covid would end and things would be back to normal there. That's why I'm thinking she was harmed and that ended her stay.
But if she was harmed, video footage should provide a clue- at either end if GGB. There seems to be no such clue in the footage.
genuineusa77
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Unless whoever harmed her, other than at the bridge, took her backpack and left it there. Could be as simple as that.
ElizabethAnne
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The last she was spotted was at 6:45 AM on Sept. 30 on the GGB by cameras after she took an Uber to a location near the bridge from the Hilton hotel in the Financial district. This is close to the time her cell phone last pinged. The fact that she took an Uber and was in a hotel in SF only came out recently via the PI's interview on a Nancy Grace podcast several months after she was missing.
A family member did not report her missing at the Central precinct in San Francisco until Friday Oct 2nd at 2 PM according to the SFPD missing persons alert. An updated alert listed her as At Risk due to depression. From NC a missing persons alert was released as well first identifying Sydney as a UC Berkeley student which was updated the next day describing her until recently a UC Berkeley student. This happened after the UC Berkeley police department sent out a public Twitter item saying Sydney was an ex-student. https://twitter.com/ucpd_cal/status/1313270863458791424?lang=en
The initial missing persons reports listed her last known location as Crissy Field with no specific time. Almost exactly a full month later, the parents came out with a revised statement saying her last known location was on the Golden Gate Bridge at 6:45 AM. At that time, it was about 20 minutes before sunrise. Sunrise in SF on Sept. 30 was at 7:05 AM.
Wild fires were happening nearby in NorCal on Sept. 30. Bird count websites like this one Daily Hawk Count describe heavy fog in the area in the early morning hours so that they delayed the count on Sept. 30 until just before noon. It also states there was smoke and low visibility after beginning the count so they had to abandon the bird count. It says:
"WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
Thick fog in the morning. Wind shifted, fog parted so team assembled for noon start. Big movement of birds right before noon and continued to have nice migration. Smoke and visibility ended the count after 2 hours."
I don't think she ever made it to the Marin side. The backpack was found I believe on the SF side abandoned, but the family won't confirm that. She was never spotted via cameras coming back to the SF side and exiting the bridge.
Shortly after KRON4 reported about the online blog posts that Sydney wrote on the internet concerning her depression Sydney West: Former teammates hope for Berkeley student’s safe return | KRON4 these started disappearing from the internet.
The police reports say there is no evidence of foul play. There are many cameras there and the CHP and the Golden Gate bridge authority patrol it constantly. As far as I know, no one has ever reported a kidnapping incident on the Golden Gate Bridge.
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No. As @ElizabethAnne reported 1 post upthread (and in other links upthread) “Syd was spotted was at 6:45 AM on Sept. 30 on the GGB by cameras after she took an Uber to a location near the bridge from the Hilton hotel in the Financial district. This is close to the time her cell phone last pinged.” She walked willingly of her own accord onto that bridge. That’s pretty much one of the only facts clearly established.
Protectwomenandgirls
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I just checked after seeing your comment and the video has definitely been removed from both of the official Find Sydney West FB pages. Why?
This is so weird...
Not shaming or criticizing anyone but I just can’t recall another missing person’s case that was ran like a political campaign. Whenever her family talks about her, it always sounds like they’re trying to sell something. It is so weird and it upsets me because their daughter was clearly suffering for a long time.
I’ve never seen another case where family threatened to investigate people that asked questions, as has happened here. Nor have I ever see a family shut down a discussion group about the case (also done in this case when information like the burner phone and backpack location started to come out).
That is very strange! Why would they want to investigate people for asking questions? When you reach out to the public for help, you will get questions. Most people asking them just want to help.
genuineusa77
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I saw her mother on the stage and she was crying so I don't know what to think of them.
katydid23
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I don't think the family wants anyone to believe she harmed herself. I think that was the undercurrent of the recent video---to make to appear she was voluntarily missing. JMO
ChatteringBirds
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No, her father outright said in the video that they just didn't know. They were clear that they didn't know but were hoping she'd still come home, IMO.
I think it’s also because they don’t want people thinking too deeply about why she (may have) harmed herself. Imho
On the official Facebook page (I got a comment deleted for ‘sleuthing the family’ but was referencing the official Find Sydney West page), her parents have said they do NOT believe she ran away, multiple times. Someone mentioned suicide and a family member made it clear that any mention of that was off limits. So I think they’re in a difficult position, given that police have ruled out foul play.
Police would not rule out foul play lightly, for obvious reasons - the most obvious being liability if they were wrong. If they were unsure, they would simply say the investigation is ongoing. For them to conclude so early and publicly that no foul play was involved, and to issue a statement about mental health, I suspect they have evidence that we are not privy to.
They never really wanted any help. They reported her missing and then, people started finding out the stuff she posted online about their relationship and how she felt. And then, it quickly turned into a campaign to save face. It was never to protect Syd, it was to protect the family. So sad.