The family of a North Carolina teen who disappeared nearly three years ago in San Fransisco has been left “baffled” after security footage showed her walking a dog before mysteriously vanishing into the fog.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Sydney West, of Chapel Hill, vanished after moving to California to attend the University of California-Berkeley. She was last seen on September 30, 2020, in the area of Crissy Field, near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. She was 19 at the time she disappeared.
The footage, captured at around 6:45 a.m. that morning, showed Sydney “kind of disappear into the fog,” private investigator Scott Dudek told Fox News Digital, while the area she disappeared from was “extremely crowded.”
“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,” Dudek said.
“I know the police kind of have given up on it because that is their theory behind it.”
The footage, which is not currently available to the public and is typically viewed only by bridge officials, reportedly showed a heavy presence of fog and smoke from a nearby wildfire. The combination of fog and smoke obscured what happened to West as she vanished.
“There were a lot of people on the bridge that morning, so that’s what continues to baffle us,” Sydney’s mother, Kimberly West, told the outlet.
Kimberly West said her daughter felt isolated when COVID-19 concerns hit in 2020 and she had to take her classes virtually.
“Before she went out there, she was having a really hard time with screen time. She wasn’t supposed to be doing any screen time, but this was the fall of 2020, and classes were completely virtual,” Sydney said. “So, everything was on the computer … and she just she said she couldn’t do it.”
However, her parents feel there is more to the story than Sydney being at risk for depression. They’re currently offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to her.
Police said West stands 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 135 pounds. She has blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen in a sweatshirt, white athletic shorts, and blue, slip-on Vans shoes.
Anyone with information about West in San Francisco should call Scott Dudek at (925) 705-8328 or email at Dudek.associates@gmail.com.
For additional information on the case, visit the “Find Sydney West” Facebook page.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to a previous episode on the case below.
[Feature Photo: Sydney West/Facebook]
