Vigil held in Chapel Hill for young woman missing in San Francisco

The family of a Chapel Hill woman who went missing in San Francisco over two weeks ago, held a vigil on Thursday pleading for her safe return.

“My objective is to turn over Heaven and Earth to find my girl,” said Jay West, whose eldest daughter Sydney hasn’t been seen in weeks.

A crowd of about 100 people gathered at the Southern Village Green in Chapel Hill to help make that happen, and bring attention to the disappearance of 19-year-old Sydney West.

West, who was attending college at UC Berkeley, was last seen near the Golden Gate Bridge in the early morning hours of Sept. 30.

“We just want our girl home and we just want her to be safe and healthy,” her father said. “I’m her dad and I want to wrap my arms around my girl again.”

The San Francisco Police Department has opened a missing persons case. According to our sister station, KRON, police said West is considered an “at-risk” missing person because she suffers from depression.

Her family created “Find Sydney West” Facebook and Instagram accounts to spread the word about searching for her. They’ve also created a #FindSydneyWest hashtag.

West’s father explained, “Walking a beach with a few people is not going to be so effective. What is effective is generating a large groundswell of awareness and caring to find her and bring her home.”

The family is planning a similar vigil in California. Details on that will be released at a later date.