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'She Could Be Anywhere': Missing UC Berkeley Student’s Parents Offer $10K Reward
“We want our daughter home,” the father of missing college freshman Sydney West said in a video uploaded to social media.
The family of a University of California, Berkeley freshman who vanished in the fall has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to her safe return.
Sydney West, 19, was last seen around 6:45 a.m. in the Crissy Field area near the Golden Gate Bridge on Sept. 30, according to the San Francisco Police Department. A family member reported her missing.
Surveillance footage of the missing student from the day she vanished, along with dozens of tips, as well as police interviews, have yielded few clues as to where she could be. Sunday marked four months since her disappearance.
“We are desperate to have our daughter back,” her mother, Kimberley West, said in a video uploaded to Facebook on Jan. 25.
Since her disappearance, the girl’s parents have issued a $10,000 reward for any information leading to her safe return.
The area near Golden Gate Bridge where the college freshman disappeared is known for heavy foot, bicycle, and vehicle traffic. Her parents urged any possible witnesses who may have seen West in the vicinity of the bridge on Sept. 30 to come forward.
“That morning that Sydney was on the bridge, there were a lot of people that were near her,” West’s father, Jay West, said in the video. “I know this because I reviewed the video so we just absolutely believe that somebody must know something.”
The family has increasingly turned to social media to aid in their search and rescue efforts in the months since her disappearance. A Facebook page created to spread awareness regarding the teenager’s disappearance has more than 8,000 followers.
“We get tips all the time,” Jay West said.
Weeks ago, the family investigated reports that West was spotted at a fruit truck in San Francisco. The father noted, however, the majority of the information they’ve received hasn’t been credible.
“Many of these tips, they haven’t panned out, but we are hopeful because... we’ve been able to run them all the way down,” he added. “We want our daughter home.”
West is originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, according to KPIX-TV. She was a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley.
Police previously said that West is at risk as she has experienced bouts of depression.
West is white, 5’10”, weighs roughly 135 pounds, and has blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a sweatshirt, white athletic shorts, and blue Vans sneakers.
Anyone with information related to West’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the San Francisco Police Department’s 24-hour tip line at 415-575-4444. The public can also contact West’s family’s private investigator, Scott Dudek, at 925-705-8328.
