Family: Suicide is unlikely cause of son's disappearance By MATT KAPKO Half Moon Bay Review February 2, 2005 It's been a month since Herminder Sidhu's driverless car was found in a turnout on Devil's Slide. The 28-year-old man left his Fremont home at about 8 a.m. Jan. 2 and told his father he was off to study in the library at San Francisco State University, where he was pursuing a degree in international relations. He never returned. His car was found the following evening on Devil's Slide. Ever since that morning, his family has been experiencing waves of confusion, frustration and hope. "We're totally, totally confused," said his father, Amarjit Sidhu. "We don't know what happened. There's no clue." Law enforcement officials say that often, when they encounter a driverless car on Devil's Slide, the evidence suggests a suicide attempt. But the investigation hasn't found any evidence of foul play or suicide. And the Sidhu family has rejected the possibility of suicide from the very beginning. "He was happy with his life," Amarjit Sidhu said. Herminder Sidhu was planning to marry soon. He loved his job and had many friends and hobbies that brought him happiness, Amarjit Sidhu said. "I don't think that a person who's that happy in life would run away or take his life," he said. "He was planning minute things for the marriage," he said. Police say they've found little evidence pertaining to the case, but Amarjit Sidhu thinks there were some major mistakes made early in the investigation. Last week he criticized the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. "They didn't even fingerprint the car," Amarjit Sidhu said. "That was the only piece of evidence and they did nothing. That is the first mistake that could have given us a clue." It's true that the investigation hasn't turned up much. Sheriff's rescue crews found nothing after scouring the cliffs and soon turned the case over to the police in Fremont, where Herminder lived. Sheriff's Lt. Steve Shively said deputies, along with multiple other agencies, spent days searching the area around the north bunker on Devil's Slide, where Herminder's car was found. "We were able to eliminate that area in the north bunker," he said. Although he knew his son loved to rock climb, Amarjit Sidhu wasn't aware of his trips to the Devil's Slide area, but now wishes he had been. "His friends told me that he used to go there," Amarjit Sidhu said. "If I had known I would have warned him that's a very dangerous area without the proper equipment." The family has put together a /,000 reward for anyone who has information about Sidhu's disappearance, and Genentech, his employer, matched that reward with /,000 of its own. "That's the only hope that we'll at least find him. Other than that, the days are passing," Amarjit Sidhu said. Sidhu is described as East Indian, 5-feet-10 and weighing 180 pounds. He has brown eyes, black hair and a goatee. Anyone with any information about his disappearance is urged to call the Fremont police at (510) 790-6800. Home