There’s still no sign of Sydney, who would now be 20 years old. The University of California, Berkeley student, who went to high school in the Triangle, was last seen in the area of Crissy Field in San Francisco, near the Golden Gate Bridge, early in the morning on September 30th, 2020. Authorities say she’s considered to be at-risk due to anxiety and depression.
September 29th, 2020 at 4:00 EST was the last time Jay West said he spoke to his daughter Sydney in an emotional plea post on the Find Sydney West Facebook page. Jay West said he’s going scuba diving on the one-year anniversary of Sydney’s disappearance, “to find a bit of peace in this most difficult of weeks.” He’s also doing this to “honor her being” because a moment that brought him absolute joy was watching her learn to get dive certified and seeing the wonder of what’s underneath the surface of the water.
“The moment you were born, you became inseparable to my soul,” said Jay West. Her parents Jay and Kimberly West currently live in Chapel Hill, NC. According to his LinkedIn profile her father, Jay West, is the CEO and Co-Founder of the venture-backed startup Bioskryb. He’s been posting on the Find Sydney West Facebook page about cycling to raise money for The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
But is she actually missing?
Suicide is the number 2 cause of death in this country for people 10 to 34 according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the Bridge Rail Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to stopping suicide at public facilities, since the Golden Gate Bridge’s opening in 1937, there have been more than 1,700 confirmed suicides and 300 unconfirmed. The foundation estimates that, on average, every two or three days the Bridge Patrol or the California Highway Patrol stops someone from jumping.
While there is no firm completion date, a “suicide net” will be installed at the bridge. Learn more about the project here: Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Deterrent Net Project Update. They hope to have it finished by 2023.
Sydney West’s parents still remain hopeful that someone around the Golden Gate Bridge saw something that morning that will help bring her back or bring them closure. Her dad, Jay West, told WGRZ that the last conversation he had with her was “sad.” That was the night before her disappearance.
Sydney West is described as white, 5-foot-10-inches tall, and weighing 130-135 pounds, with blue eyes and light brown hair (worn in a bun on the top of her head that morning). She was wearing black leggings, a teal hoodie, and her favorite old slip-on Vans (dark green and black print). She may have been carrying a black backpack and may or may not have been wearing glasses.
Anyone with any information is asked to call private investigator Scott Dudek at 925-705-8328.
