The baffled family of a UC Berkley student, who vanished into the fog on the Golden Gate Bridge in 2020, is now offering a $25,000 reward in hopes of finding her.
Sydney West, 19, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, disappeared on September 30, 2020, to the confusion of her family, who she had spoken to the night before.
She was last seen on surveillance footage- which has not been publicly released – walking the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco during the busy morning rush before disappearing into the fog and never being spotted again.
Many have speculated that West took her life, as the Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most popular suicide spots in the world.
Her family, however, doesn’t believe that’s the case with father, Jay West telling Fox News: ‘Lots of people have been like: “Well, it’s obvious what happened. She was on the Golden Gate Bridge.”
‘But her being my daughter and knowing how she feels about her sister and about her family and all of the things that she was looking forward to and…all the things that she would get to experience…I just find it [hard to believe] she would just leave all of that.’
Sydney West, 19, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, disappeared on September 30, 2020, to the confusion of her family, who she had spoken to the night before
It is speculated by many that she took her own life at the Golden Gate Bridge, as it is one of the most popular suicide spots in the world, but her family doesn’t believe it as they had spoken to her the night before and was excited about what life would bring
She was last seen on surveillance footage- which has not been publicly released – walking the Golden Gate Bridge (stock image) in San Francisco during the busy morning rush before disappearing into the fog and never being spotted again
Her mother, Kimberly, said the footage still ‘baffles us’ as there were a ‘lot of people on the Bridge that morning.’
‘And that’s what we continue to hope — that there was somebody who maybe doesn’t even realize they saw something,’ she told Fox News.
The family is offering a $25,000 reward to anyone that helps them find their daughter and to learn more about what happened on that fateful day on the Golden Gate Bridge.
The family’s private investigator, Scott Dudek, also said suicide is an unlikely option as it was just before 7am and the bridge was ‘extremely crowded.’
‘It was foggy, but she kind of disappears into the fog,’ he told Fox News of video footage.
‘You would think if somebody went and crawled up on the rails with all those people and bike riders, somebody would have either called, which, that never happened, or somebody would have tried to talk to her and try to come forward with all that publicity, and that never happened.’
The family’s private investigator, Scott Dudek, also said suicide is an unlikely option as it was just before 7am and the bridge was ‘extremely crowded.’ Dudek also said the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) have ‘given up’ on her case due to the suicide theory
Despite the fact that the family believed their daughter had no intention of committing suicide, the SFPD had previously said West was ‘at risk due to depression.’ West had taken a leave of absence from UC Berkley after the pandemic hit and classes were taught remotely. The 19-year-old had suffered from a serious concussion the summer before and was told to avoid screen time
Her family said she was excited for the future and had been interested in science, art, and music, and had enjoyed traveling and learning and playing sports
Dudek also said the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) have ‘given up’ on her case due to the suicide theory.
The only thing preventing people from jumping is a four-foot barrier but a suicide net is expected to be completed by the end of the year after more than 2,000 have died jumping off the bridge since it opened in 1937.
The SFPD had previously said West was ‘at risk due to depression.’
DailyMail.com has contacted the West family, Dudek, the SFPD, and bridge officials for comment.
West – who was originally from California before moving to North Carolina – had taken a leave of absence from UC Berkley after the pandemic hit and classes were taught remotely.
The 19-year-old had suffered from a serious concussion the summer before and was told to avoid screen time.
‘Before she went out there, she was having a really hard time with screen time,’ Kimberly said.
‘She wasn’t supposed to be doing any screen time, but this was the fall of 2020, and classes were completely virtual. So, everything was on the computer…and she just said she couldn’t do it.’
Her parents, Jay and Kimberley, (pictured) have returned to the bridge several times since her disappearance. Now, the family is offering a $25,000 reward to anyone that helps them find their daughter and to learn more about what happened on that fateful day on the Golden Gate Bridge
West was said to have felt lonely after the switch to virtual learning and she deferred until Fall 2021. She had been staying with family friends in the Bay Area at the time of her disappearance.
Her family said she was excited for the future and had been interested in science, art, and music, and had enjoyed traveling and learning and playing sports.
The family said their daughter was 5-foot-10 inches and weighed around 130 pounds. She was last seen wearing dark leggings, a teal hoodie, and tropical-print Vans tennis shoes.
