Global Courant 2023-04-19 11:00:36
Sydney West, a 19-year-old student at the University of California, Berkeley, from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, went missing from the Golden Gate Bridge on the morning of September 30, 2020.
Some have drawn conclusions about West’s disappearance based on that fact alone, but her family and a California private investigator are still “baffled” and hopeful three years later, especially after seeing video footage of West on the bridge that morning.
“First, it was about 6:45 in the morning. Extremely busy. It was foggy, but she sort of disappears in the fog,” private investigator Scott Dudek told Fox News Digital of the video footage. “You would think that if someone would have crawled onto the tracks with all those people and bikers, someone would have called, which never happened, or someone would have tried to talk to her and come forward with all that publicity. , and that never happened.”
“I know the police have kind of given up because that’s their theory behind it,” he continued.
FAMILY OF SYDNEY WEST, MISSING UC BERKLEY STUDENT, UPDATE SEARCH INSTRUCTIONS
Sydney West disappeared from the Golden Gate Bridge on the morning of September 30, 2020. (Family handout)
Dudek added that not only was the bridge busy that morning with pedestrians, including West, who regularly strolled past the iconic landmark, but there were also bird watchers, photographers and athletes participating in activities in a park below the bridge.
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The footage, which is not public and rarely viewed by anyone other than bridge officials, also shows fog rolling over the bridge combined with smoke from nearby wildfires eventually obscuring any view of West’s last known location.
Some have drawn conclusions about Sydney West’s disappearance based on that fact alone, but her family and a California private investigator are still “bewildered” and hopeful three years later, especially after seeing video footage of West on the bridge that morning . (Family handout)
Kimberly West, Sydney’s mother, says the video still baffles her.
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“There were a lot of people on the bridge that morning, so that continues to surprise us,” said West.
And that’s what we keep hoping – that there was someone who might not even realize they saw something.
The West family previously lived in California before moving to North Carolina. Sydney moved back for her freshman year at UC Berkeley, but due to a severe concussion from an accident in a North Carolina summer lake and classes moving fully online in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she had postponed until Fall 2021. meanwhile staying with family friends in the Bay Area.
Sydney West moved back to California in 2020 for her freshman year at UC Berkeley, but due to a severe concussion from a summer accident in North Carolina and classes going completely online in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she had postponed until the fall 2021 semester while staying with family friends in the Bay Area. (Family handout)
“Before she went out, she had a really hard time with screen time. She wasn’t supposed to do screen time, but this was Fall 2020 and classes were completely virtual,” said West. “So everything was on the computer… and she just said she couldn’t.”
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The 19-year-old felt isolated and lonely after switching to virtual classes that fall. SFPD said in a 2020 press release that West was “at risk because of depression,” but her family believes there is more to it.
The 19-year-old felt isolated and lonely after switching to virtual classes that fall. SFPD said in a 2020 press release that West was “at risk because of depression,” but her family believes there is more to it. (Family handout)
Sydney and her father spoke on the phone the night before she went missing, and he had every reason to believe she would call again soon.
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“A lot of people said, ‘Well, it’s obvious what happened. She was on the Golden Gate Bridge,’ but… because she’s my daughter and she knows how she feels about her sister and about her family and all the things that she was looking forward to it and… all the things she would go through… I just find it (hard to believe) that she would just leave all of that behind.
The West family is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to Sydney’s whereabouts. (Family handout)
According to her mother, Sydney is on her feet. She is interested in science, but also in art and music. She enjoys traveling, learning and was interested in sports, West said.
FAMILY OF SYDNEY WEST, MISSING UC BERKLEY STUDENT, UPDATE SEARCH INSTRUCTIONS
Dudek and the West family have received numerous tips, but none have succeeded. They both thanked those who had contacted about Sydney’s disappearance and offered their help.
Sydney West, according to her mother, is well founded. She is interested in science, but also in art and music. She enjoys traveling, learning and was interested in sports, West said. (Family handout)
West’s family is offering a $25,000 reward for any information leading to her whereabouts.
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She is 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs about 150 pounds, and was last seen wearing dark leggings, a light teal hoodie, and Vans sneakers with a tropical print on them. She wore her hair in a bun.
Anyone with information regarding this matter is asked to contact Scott Dudek at (925) 705-8328 or Dudek.associates@gmail.com. More information about Sydney and her disappearance can be found at findsydneywest.com.
Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to audrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants.
