Vanessa Plotkin, UC Berkeley student in sociology, confirmed as victim in Oakland fire

Vanessa Plotkin, 21, UC Berkeley student listed as missing by her family following the warehouse fire in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland during the early hours of Saturday December 3, 2016.. Photo courtesy of Gary Plotkin less Vanessa Plotkin, 21, UC Berkeley student listed as missing by her family following the warehouse fire in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland during the early hours of Saturday December 3, 2016.. Photo ... more Photo: Courtesy Gary Plotkin Photo: Courtesy Gary Plotkin Image 1 of / 54 Caption Close Vanessa Plotkin, UC Berkeley student in sociology, confirmed as victim in Oakland fire 1 / 54 Back to Gallery

To her family, Vanessa Plotkin was “Ness.” Or rather, “HappiNESS, MessiNESS and SuperNESS.”

“I had fun with her name,” said Gary Plotkin, Vanessa’s father. “She was so good-natured, lovely and accepting. She’s in all of our hearts.”

In the hours after the Oakland warehouse fire, the UC Berkeley junior’s family struggled to reach her. The 21-year-old wasn’t answering text messages or phone calls.

The last message her mother had received from her, the day of the fire, was an emoji with heart eyes and a heart.

The next morning, her twin sister Victoria kept calling from New York City. She had last heard from Vanessa around 11 p.m. Friday, a half-hour before the tragedy that took 36 lives.

On Tuesday, authorities confirmed that Plotkin had died in the fire along with her roommate and friend, Jennifer Morris, also a junior at UC Berkeley. Plotkin, of Lakewood in Los Angeles County, was studying sociology.

“We are beside ourselves,” Gary Plotkin, said. “This is just like a nightmare. I can’t believe it.”

At a vigil Thursday on the UC Berkeley campus, Victoria Plotkin expressed her shock and devastation at losing her twin.

“Vanessa was my twin sister, she was my best friend,” she said. “She was my light. She was my sun.”

“We had just moved her here in August,” said her mother, Valerie Plotkin, “and I didn’t expect to be coming back for this type of gathering. She continually inspired me.”

Her family posted homages to her online. Her brother, Gavin Plotkin, uploaded an artistic shot of Vanessa. She stared defiantly at the camera, eyebrows arched and hair pulled up in a half bun.

“I love you baby sis, you will remain forever in my heart,” he said.

Sarah Ravani and Lizzie Johnson are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com, ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani @LizzieJohnsonnn