Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Teen girl volleyball star Sydney West vanished into 'thick fog.' Where is Sydney?

Episode Date: February 25, 2021

UC Berkeley student Sydney West has been missing since September. Her family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to her whereabouts. The 19-year-old last spoke to her family the night before she disappeared. Sydney's family says there has been no activity on her cell phone, social media, or bank account.Joining Nancy Grace today: Ashley Wilcott - Judge and trial attorney, anchor at Court TV, www.ashleywillcott.com Dr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, Atlanta Ga www.angelaarnoldmd.com  Scott Dudek - Private Investigator, Dudek and Associates PI dot com, 28 years with Alameda County Sheriff's Office in Criminal Investigations, Homicide, Cold Case, and Adult Missing Persons Angenette Levy - Emmy-nominated Reporter & Anchor, Twitter: @Angenette5 TIPLINE: Private Investigator Scott Dudek [phone] or San Francisco Police Department [phone] Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. A 19-year-old girl, the star of her high school volleyball team, she's the captain. She gets her dream. She gets into Berkeley and then vanishes into thin air. Where is this girl? Where is Sydney West? Two weeks since anyone has seen or heard from Sydney West. She's a 19-year-old star volleyball player and UC Berkeley student who was last seen near Chrissy Field.

Her friends, family, and former teammates are extremely worried, and they hope that she's safe. Two weeks incommunicado. She's not safe. Something is horribly wrong. Let me give you the tip line right off the bat. 925-705-8328. Repeat, 925-705-8328 or 415-575-4444. 415-575-4444. This teen girl has seemingly vanished into thin air. Just then, you were hearing our friends at KRO in 4 News.

Let me introduce to you our panel today to break it down and put it back together, hopefully coming up with some answers. Judge, trial lawyer, anchor, Court TV, Ashley Wilcott. You can find her at ashleywilcott.com. Renowned psychiatrist joining us out of the Atlanta jurisdiction, Dr. Angela Arnold at AngelaArnoldMD.com. Scott Dudek, PI with Dudek and Associates on the case from the beginning, trying to find Sidney West, just 19 years old. Special guest joining us, Anjanette Levy, Emmy-nominated reporter and anchor.

Anjanette, first, you can report to me. Is it Levy or Levy? It's Levy, Nancy. Thanks so much for having me. You know, I don't understand how somebody can just disappear in a very, very crowded area like that. First of all, what is Chrissy Field? That's where some people say they last saw her. Her teammates say she was near Chrissy Field. Is that something to do with Berkeley? Is that where they play volleyball? Chrissy Field is just basically a running area. It's kind of an

open park in the San Francisco area. A lot of people run around it. They have yoga classes down there. Bird watchers. It's right near the area where Sidney was last seen. You know what's interesting about that area? You know, and Jeanette Levy, I heard Scott Dudek just jump in on your answer right there, Scott. I'm not going to hold it against you. But you know, that Chrissy Field area, as you drive along, there are all those tall, beautiful eucalyptus trees. And my point is, when you're driving through that area where Chrissy Field is, you're leaving the San Francisco Bridge area and heading back on the other side of

the bridge. It is beautiful. It's amazing that a forest, it looks like a deep primeval forest there. There are a lot of bird watchers. There's a lot of hikers. And it makes me wonder who else would be there. My sister, Anjanette Levy and Scott Dudek, lives very near there. So I've been out there with my now husband and the twins. Oh, my goodness. Many, many times have walked back and forth and back and forth across the Golden Gate Bridge, have gone into those forests we're talking about where Chrissy Field is. And that really opens up a cornucopia of possibilities about what may have happened to Sydney West.

Guys, for those of you just joining us, freshman at Berkeley, back to you, Scott Dudek, PI, on the case from the beginning. Now, the parents, her parents, did they live in that area? So, Sydney had grown up in Pleasanton, California, which is approximately 20 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. So, Cindy grew up in Pleasanton, and then when she was 16, the family got a transfer to Chapel Hill in North Carolina. So what do you mean they got a transfer? How did they move? The mom and dad moved for business reasons to Chapel Hill. Oh, what do they do?

They're in the medical field, biotech field. You know, Anjanette Levy, Emmy-nominated reporter and anchor, I know that seems like a small detail. But, you know, in all the years that I prosecuted and covered cases, when you sit down and talk to witnesses, what seems like a small detail at the beginning can suddenly blow up in your face and turn into a big detail that could turn the course of the investigation. So, Anjanette Levy, the day she goes missing, what do we know about that day? She went missing in the early morning hours, correct? Yeah, that's correct, Nancy. And I mean, it could be just the smallest detail. Covering these cases for many years, you know, something that may seem insignificant, maybe that lead that breaks the case wide open, as you mentioned. So we know she

was down in that area. It's a beautiful area, as you mentioned, but it's also an area where there may have been a lot of people around. So I think that there needs to be special attention paid to that area, even though it is beautiful. There can still be people up to no good lurking around in those places. I want to follow up on what Anjanette Levy is telling us along with us, PI on the case, Scott Dudek, Dr. Angela Arnold and Ashley Wilcott. Did you hear what Anjanette just said, Ashley Wilcott? That is certainly a double-edged sword. A lot of people around.

It's very difficult for me to imagine that this girl, just 19 years old, the high school volleyball captain who gets into Berkeley, that's a lot of people's dream. With all the people around walking, jogging, bird watching, doing their exercises and their morning stretches, that she just disappears. So you've got the potential for a lot of witnesses, but also the potential for ne'er-do-wells that are lurking in public areas like parks. Yeah, you know, remember two things. Number one, so many people now are so busy in their lives, they don't pay attention to what's going on around them. And so regrettably, individuals who could be good witnesses haven't paid a whit of attention to be's going on around them and so regrettably individuals who could be good

witnesses haven't paid a wit of attention to be a witness at all number two the thing about criminals are most of them in my opinion do things that are premeditated what does that mean they watch they find vulnerable situations or people and they do things in a way to commit the crime, sometimes with little observation by others because of the way they pick a victim. So those two things contribute to the fact that right now we don't know what's happened. Just thinking of all the people just recently, as you know, Ashley, but let me alert the rest of you to the breaking news. We took an RV trip all the way across the country. It's our third RV trip. On one of our RV trips, we went from the East Coast all the way to California to visit my sister through the redwood, across Death Valley, the whole thing. We ended up at

Golden Gate Bridge, which is the area we're talking about. And I want to understand something, Scott Dudek, PI. And let me tell you about Dudek. 28 years with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office in criminal investigation, homicide, cold case, and missing people. So he knows what he's talking about. On the one side of the bridge, Scott Dudek, you have the statute of the Navy person, the sailor. And I think it's got a duffel bag. He's leaving, as my father did, went all the way from Oglethorpe, Georgia, to San Francisco to ship out in the World War. And there's the statute on one side.

And then on the other side, there's really, you know, I think a visitor center and the highway that takes you through all this forest I'm telling you about. Which side do we think she was seen on? She was seen on the San Francisco side, as you're well aware when you go across. Where the statute is, right? Correct. And if you go across, then you're into the Marin County, which is over there by the Tiberon in that area. So she was actually seen on the San Francisco side.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, we're talking about, I mean, she's beautiful. I'm looking at her picture right now. Oh, my goodness. Have you seen her? I have. Look at her. Something about her, I think it's her hair and her expression, reminds me so much of my daughter, Lucy. This 19-year-old girl seemingly has vanished

into thin air. And I don't buy that. I just don't believe it. Guys, take a listen to our friends, Kimberly and Jay West, Sydney's family. Sydney, or Sid as she likes to be called, is a kind, caring young woman who has a way with younger children, especially her 10-year-old sister who she's adored since the day she was born and who misses her desperately. Sid is an incredibly talented musician, an athlete, an artist, and is highly intelligent. Sydney's 5'10", 130 pounds, and was last seen wearing long, dark leggings, a teal sweatshirt with her hair in a bun on top of her head. This is every parent's nightmare.

And all we want is our daughter, Sydney, to be found safe and brought home to our family thank you thank you i don't know how they held it together during that uh with me uh the pi working the case former cop for nearly 30 years scott dudek how the parents managed to hold it together for that press conference is amazing to me how did they do? It's like everybody that's in this situation. They take it minute by minute, and they know they've got to be strong to get the word out. It's just very, very difficult for them. You know, if you talk to them when they're behind the scenes type of thing, it's just been horrible for all of them, mom, dad, the little sister.

But they know that they've got to stay strong and just, you know, have the people out there that may have seen her that, like somebody said earlier, that may not have realized what they saw to give us a call. And that's all we're praying for on this case here. I've got a picture of her right here at the entrance. One of the entrances to the San Francisco side to the Golden Gate Bridge. And it was a big thrill when I walked across the bridge with my children for the first time. And I got to tell you, that bridge is packed with people. If she had been on

that bridge or near that bridge, I know someone would have seen her. And I'm confused about something. Actually, I'm not confused. I've identified an inconsistency in the statements. To you, Mr. Dudek, was she seen on the bridge last or was she seen near Chrissy Field, which I think would be on the other side of the bridge? She was seen on the bridge the last time she was seen on the bridge before. Why does this flyer say last seen near Chrissy Field? Because she was dropped off in that area. And then the person that dropped her off saw her in that area. And then we have evidence that she did start to walk across the bridge or at least move down the bridge a little bit. Okay, so is Chrissy Field on the San Francisco side or the forest side?

The San Francisco side. Okay, so that's not that inconsistent. Okay, Sydney West, last seen near Chrissy Field, moving toward the bridge where there are literally, that bridge is packed. How could no one have seen her? I want to go straight out to Ashley Wilcott, judge and trial lawyer, anchor at Court TV. You were mentioning earlier how someone may have seen something but not realized they saw something. Absolutely. That happens a lot, very frequently.

So I think that, you know, a lot of times all of us see things that may not register. And so it may not seem like a big deal to us if we're, for instance, in a park walking our dog and we notice another dog run by. In and of itself, whatever, don't really process. But then if we're asked later, and I have witnesses in court testify before me all the time that do this, if they're asked later by someone, whether it's an investigator or law enforcement, about, hey, we understand you might have been in the park at this time. Yes. You were walking your dog. Yes.

Did you see anything that was unusual? Did you see any anything that was unusual did you see any dogs well they can continue that line of non leading questions and find out that perhaps somebody had been attacked their dog got loose they're trying to find out what happened and the witness recalls I did see a dog this was the type of dog and I noticed actually when I saw that dog there was a dark blue van parked in a spot that wasn't really a parking spot. And I go every day and that's unusual. So I'm giving that as an example, Nancy, of once someone starts asking you about things, you can remember more than you

realize you noticed. Guys, the family now offering a $10,000 reward in their plea for the safe return of their Berkeley student daughter, Sydney West. You know, earlier, Scott Dudek, you mentioned you now have information that she was closer to the bridge. Is that an eyewitness or is that video surveillance? Because, hold on, Antoinette Levy, shouldn't that bridge be covered in video cameras? Yeah, most definitely, Nancy. And I actually read a quote from her father. And he said that she was last on the bridge because he said that he has actually reviewed the video.

So what does that video show? What else does it show? Does it show her walking across? That's a bridge. It would be a high profile location that would recognize anybody in that area. And another question I have is, how much does the person who dropped her off know about what was going on or what happened that day? Yeah, that's a great question. Do you, Scott Dudek, who dropped her off? It was an Uber driver, and he's been extremely cooperative um in regards to everything at this point here we don't suspect him in anything like i said he feels terrible that he didn't watch you know once she got out of the car watched uh what she was doing further or anything like that so um he's

he's not a suspect in this at all. Why was she there, Scott? Why was she there? Because I'll answer that, and then I'd like to go back to another statement. But she was there just because she was a kid that loved to be outside. You know, when she was in high school, she formed a group called Save the Bees. That was just her me place, her time to just kind of chill and just enjoy everything. Look out and look at the bay and look at the people that were running. She was very athletic and stuff. Was she walking, jogging? Was that her normal route? It was not unnormal for her to be in that area that early.

She had been in the city the night before. And a lot of people, they get up just to visit and kind of hang out in the city. Visit who? Nobody in particular. She just went there by herself, which, again, wasn't uncommon. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait. Went to the city to visit. Nobody. So then she's not visiting. OK. She's just there to to kind of just relax. And and at this point here, none of her none of her California friends have come forward in regards to giving us another reason why she was there. I've talked

to several of her friends. Well, I really believe she had to see somebody while she was there. Did she have a boyfriend? No, she did not. So at this point here, we have talked to some other people, but she just went there to visit. She spent the night in a hotel there, which, again, was not uncommon for her just because, you know, she just was just trying to, like everybody else, kind of suck into the time that you could actually get out during COVID and stuff like that. And that was one of the time periods there. Let me ask you this. Had she already started classes? She had started classes and then COVID hit. And then she was having a hard time going, doing the distance learning online thing. So she decided to withdraw until the COVID

ended. Where was she living at the time she disappeared? She was in the area of Pleasanton where she was staying with some relatives and stuff over in that area. So living with relatives in Pleasanton where she used to live growing up, correct? Yes, that's correct. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. crime stories with nancy grace to dr angela arnold psychiatrist joining us out of atlanta angela arnold md.com i think we need to talk to who she saw the night before as of right now the uber driver and the golden gate bridge video does not show her with anyone that we know.

But I still want to know who she contacted the night before. That could be very telling. Even if it's just a girlfriend could tell us who was she meeting the next day at San Francisco Bridge. And because we need to know if she was meeting someone there. And how often did she do this? I know that I know that it keeps being said that this was normal behavior. This was something that she did. But also she had withdrawn from school and stayed out there in California. I think that there are some missing pieces that that haven't been that haven't been addressed yet.

Agree. Guys, we were talking about the disappearance of a beautiful young girl, just 19 years old. Beautiful and outgoing, beautiful on the inside and the outside, the captain of her high school volleyball team. She enrolls at Berkeley and heads all the way from Chapel Hill out to California to live the dream of attending Berkeley. Then COVID hits. Everybody goes to remote. She didn't like it. She withdrew, waiting to re-enter. Goes early, early morning out to the Golden Gate Bridge in her workout clothes, and then she is never seen again. To Anjanette Levy joining us, Emmy-nominated reporter and anchor. Anjanette, with all the video of where she was last seen, I find it very difficult to believe you can't spot a guy walking up to her.

Yeah, I would agree with you, Nancy. I would like to get a look at that video myself. I'd also like to know what was on her cell phone. There have been quotes from the parents saying that there's been no activity on her cell phone, but what were those last interactions using her cell phone like? Was she texting somebody? Was she calling somebody? Has that phone been dumped by law enforcement, you know, based on what they can do with the carrier? So there's a lot. There's a lot. You would think that they would be looking through that video. I'm not hearing much about the forensic evidence, Anjanette Levy. So to you, Scott Dudek, has the phone been recovered? Not at this point

here. It has not been. And Nancy, if I could just briefly touch on the video on the bridge. The video has been looked at. the unfortunate thing is it does show her walking but as everybody's aware in that area if you've ever been there the fog was very very heavy and at that day in time so it just kind of it's a it's kind of a spooky thing where she just kind of disappears into the fog and the fog extended all the way across so we don't know uh once she went in a short distance into the bridge we don't know somebody could have picked her up on the bridge we don't know if she made it to the other side of the bridge because the fog was so thick which you would think like somebody mentioned

that they would have a better system knowing that the fog's there all the time. But that's what we're dealing with. So, you know, I want to talk about that. There is a hotel, Scott Dudek, in San Francisco, and I think it's called The Mark. And before I had the twins, my husband and I were out and I forgot why we were there. I think a trial in San Francisco. And we went to the top of the mark and you could see the whole city and out onto the bay. And I was looking out. I went, oh, my stars, David, look at this. Look, I've never seen anything like it. Fog was coming in over San Francisco. And what Dudek is telling you is correct. It was so thick.

It looked like it was covering the whole city. It was just rolling in, I guess, off the San Francisco Bay. And it was opaque. You could see nothing. And now that he said that, I get it. Because up until you told me that, Dudek, I couldn't understand how did she just disappear last seen on the bridge with all that video surveillance. And like Antoinette Levy told us, that is a high-profile spot in our country, like the statute of Liberty or the Washington monument. I mean, it's guarded heavily from terrorists.

So there's a lot of video. There's a lot of surveillance. There are cops stationed there to protect it. But now I get it that you told me that dude, because that fog is like unlike anything I've ever seen before. I mean, if you take that area that you're talking about at the top there, I've been there. I know exactly what you're talking about. When you go there, it's almost like when the fog starts to roll in, it's almost like you're sitting on the clouds in that area. It's just kind of an eerie sight to watch it roll in.

It really is. But what about the other side of the bridge? They didn't see her coming off? Did they look the entire day and they never see her coming off one way or the other? That's correct. Never saw her because the fog was so thick. And as you're well aware, Nancy, too, both San Francisco County and Alameda County, which are the two areas around where she disappeared. There's a lot of heavy, it's known for human trafficking, and that's a concern of ours too, that somebody could

have picked her up for that just based on, you know, all the factors. And like you've said several times, she's 5'10", light hair, blue eyes, 130 pounds. I mean, as a parent of a child, that's a nightmare. I want to follow up on that cell phone evidence. The phone has not been recovered, and I assume it's been triangulated. Did she have it with her that morning, Scott Dudek? Do we know? Yeah, we believe she did have it because that's still the order an uber uh yeah correct so um you know we're we're we're fairly confident she did have it at one

point well has it been tracked where is it now they also had a a um I'm not sure what the apps called tile which I guess a lot of people have on there. You know, you can put a sticker under your key. Define it. Correct. And that shows no activity, too. So that's a little suspicious. But where was that last seen? Where did the tile show up?

Well, the actual iPhone information showed up on where she got dropped off by the Uber driver. Where she got dropped off, not in the middle of the bridge? No, she got dropped off on one end, and it only shows her activity there. Guys, we were talking about a missing girl, 19 years old, Sydney West. She travels all the way from where she lives with her parents in Chapel Hill to Berkeley to go to school there at UC Berkeley and then vanishes. Take a listen to our friend Amy Larson at KRON4. The San Francisco Police Department still has an active missing persons investigation open for Sydney West. Today, her family and friends held a vigil for her to bring more awareness, to let people know that Sydney is still missing in San Francisco. Sydney grew up here where I am

right now in Pleasanton. I'm staying outside Foothill High School where she was a volleyball star. She was with the varsity team as a sophomore. I talked to her coach earlier this week. He said there are so many people here at Foothill High School who are so concerned about Sydney West. They want to get that message out to her. That was the same message that Sydney's friends and families were trying to get out today out in North Carolina. Her family moved out to North Carolina three years ago.

So it's become a challenge for her family to coordinate a missing person search effort. While part of her family is on the East Coast and part of it is here on the west coast. And here's Maureen Kelly, KRON4. She's been living with friends in San Francisco, according to her family. SFPD says West was last seen in the area of Chrissy Field on the morning of Tuesday, September 30th. She goes by Sid and is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 135th. She goes by Sid and is described as five feet, 10 inches tall, weighing 135 pounds. She has hair that's been described as either blonde or light brown and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a sweatshirt, athletic shorts, and blue slip-on

Vans tennis shoes. She may also have been carrying a black backpack. What about the backpack, Antoinette Levy? Any sign of the black backpack? And also, I'm still not getting the answer I'm looking for as it relates to that cell phone, Anjanette. Yeah, and we don't really know much about the cell phone. The police, when there's an investigation like this, if her phone was linked to a cloud, they can call the carrier, they can get a subpoena and get the records. So we need to know more about that. The backpack, I'm not clear on that, but I do know that they are saying that her Bose headphones are also missing and she may have had those with her that day. So maybe if she's going to this spot to hang out or, you know,

take a jog or something, she would have those with her to listen to some music or a podcast or something. So I think there are a lot of questions that we need answered, especially about that cell phone and who she might've been communicating with. Crime stories with nancy grace guys 19 year old sydney west travels from carolina all the way across the country to attend uc berkeley and somehow literally disappears into the fog. I don't believe that for one minute. The tip line, 925-705-8328 or 415-575-4444. What happened to Sidney West? When I hear headphones, that is a nightmare for women that are exercising, especially women, and use headphones. Let me refer to Molly Tibbetts, who was jogging and was approached.

Her killer passed her several times before she realized what was happening. She had in headphones, we think. Long Island jogger, Karina Vetrano, had in earbuds and did not realize someone was creeping up on her as she went jogging near her family home. The list goes on and on and on. And when I hear headphones, that just puts a chill down my spine. Where is Sydney? Take a listen to her volleyball coach, Dustin Collins speaking. K-R-O-N. Obviously right now we're all, you know, very worried and concerned about Sydney West. The fact that she's been missing now for almost two weeks, as far as I'm concerned, and what we know of right now. She played here her sophomore freshman and sophomore year. Sydney was an athlete here at

Foothill High School and she moved after her sophomore year to go to North Carolina. She did come back and visit with us a couple times but it's been you know once she once somebody's played for us and been a part of our program they're a part of our extended family and now we're all just incredibly worried knowing that she is missing, and we don't know where she's at. So we've got girls from our team, from past players. They're all keeping her in our thoughts and prayers, and they have posting information about her. We just want to have the word out there and make sure that everybody knows that she is still missing,

and we want that if anybody knows where she's at, we would love for them to contact the proper people. We just, we hope everything's okay. And we're, we definitely are missing her right now. As we heard earlier, the human trafficking statistics out of the San Francisco area are off the chart. Why? It's a jumping off spot from our country to take victims abroad, to somehow lose them in the shuffle of travel there on the coast. I want to circle back again to Scott Dudek, private investigator working on the case at dudekandassociatespi.com. I'm still interested in what you have to say about the cell phone triangulation. I just heard from another source that she was living with friends in San Francisco, not with relatives in Pleasanton. Which one is correct? She has relatives and friends both.

For lack of a better word, I want to say she was kind of just visiting everybody and couch-flopping around. But she has an aunt that lives in that same area. She has girlfriends that she kept in contact with in high school. Scott, do you feel that the San Francisco police are taking this seriously? You know, as a retired cop, that's hard to say. I know they're very busy. They're a very busy department, but maybe a little more compassion, a little more compassion would be preferred by me, but everybody's got their own style. Okay.

I'll be honest. I don't like what you just said because I'm getting a lot of mixed signals. You start off by telling me, I'm on your side, Dudek. Just understand that. I'm a retired cop. Everybody has their own style. Okay. I know BS when I smell it.

Are they taking the case seriously? No, they're not. Yeah. Why is that? Why is that, Dr. Angela Arnold, when a young girl goes missing, oh, she must have been depressed and she's trying to sort her life out. She's got a boyfriend. She left life out. She's got a boyfriend. She left with him. She's with a man.

Why are there always explanations of where she's been? When she's missing, that's where she is. Well, and you know, Nancy, yeah, there are a lot of holes in this story that are bothering me, okay? But to me, the police should just do their job. She is a missing person. She is missing. They don't get to make all of these assumptions. You don't assume anything.

You don't assume anything in medicine and you shouldn't assume anything in law enforcement. And I can't imagine why they are just assuming that they already know what's going on when throughout the breadth of this show alone, so many questions have come up in just this short 30 minutes that we've been talking. How can they assume that they know what is going on with this young girl? And how dare them? You know, Ashley Wilcott, I don't believe this girl just disappeared into the fog. She's out there. There is an answer, but nobody's getting it.

Right. So two things. Number one, that's what I thought of as well, which is, okay, nobody jumps off a bridge without A, people seeing and B, people posting it all over social media. Let's just be real. So we know that doesn't happen. The second part of this is, and there's a case right now that's in trial. And here's what bothers me about this.

To treat a case as a missing person case and treat it a little bit nonchalantly as, oh, they're just somewhere, they're missing, but not a big deal, is very, very different than treating this as something's wrong, could be a homicide, and we need to investigate to the fullest extent that we are able to. Because the problem is they're not going to have captured all of the information in the investigation that they could have otherwise captured. And it's going to mean that they're not going to be able to figure out what happened to our number one or number two, who a perpetrator is. And so it really, really, really always causes me for a concern to hear when law enforcement is not treating it as seriously as they should and investigating as thoroughly as they should because evidence disappears. And this is bad, bad, bad for this young lady. Guys, I want you to take a listen to our cut number 13, a message to Sydney from family there in Castro Valley. Hi Sydney, it's the Barano family here

from Castro Valley and we are thinking of you and so many of us, your family, your friends, we just all want you to come home. Please come home so we can go and enjoy a Giants baseball game. Sydney, come home. I'll cook you some pizza. Please come home, Sydney. We missed you and your beautiful smile. You know, to Dr. Angie Arnold, psychiatrist, shorting us out of Atlanta, I remember when my dad was in the hospital, and I was out on the sidewalk in New York at midnight trying to get a cab to get to the airport to get to him.

And I got there. And what I would always do after supper is give him some kind of a dessert. If we could sneak it past because he was borderline diabetic and my mom was like an eagle watching what he had and a cup of decaf. I was just hearing these friends and family saying, let's go to a Giants game. Let's have a pizza. I remember whispering in my dad's ear, everybody else was saying, you can go, feel free to die. And I was in his ear going, daddy, come, come back. Don't go anywhere. I'll make you a cup of decaf. Okay, let's go home.

So when you know everything is upside down and your world has fallen apart and you're clinging to something like, let's go to another giant scape. Let's cook a pizza. Let's make a cup of decaf. Well, because, Nancy, they really don't know what has happened to this girl, do they? They don't know. But all they know is that she's missing. And for whatever reason, what if she's a runaway? Who knows? They're trying to, if she could hear this, they're trying

to pull her back in that way. Because you have to have hope. If you don't have hope, what is left? Amen. Amen. Guys, tip line 925 705

8328 925 705 8328 Please help us find Sydney. 905-8328. 925-705-8328. Please help us find Sydney. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.