Missing Runner's Body 'Likely' Found In Pleasanton, Police Say

PLEASANTON, CA — A body that appears to be Philip Kreycik, 37, of Berkeley was found Tuesday in Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park by a volunteer searcher.

The Alameda County Coroner's Bureau will be working to provide an identification of and cause of death for the body, though sheriff's office spokesperson Ray Kelly said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference that all the information officials have leads them to believe the body is Kreycik. The body was found around 2:30 p.m. about 250 feet off of a trail on the ridge area of the northern end of the park's open space area, said Pleasanton Police Lt. Erik Silacci.

"We've invested a lot of time and energy and care as a community as one team to find Philip and to bring him home," Kelly said.

Officials hoped to bring him home safe and were heartbroken by the discovery. "To deliver this news today is hard for all of us," Kelly said.

The body was found near a game trail, or a trail paved by animals such as deer or raccoons, that could have appeared to be a walking trail, said East Bay Regional Parks District Capt. Lance Brede. Game trails are not marked and "it's very easy to get disoriented out there," he said.

The game trail was about a quarter-mile from the trail officials believe Kreycik intended to take, Kelly said. Someone could continue walking straight and not realize they left the main trail.

"The environment out there, it plays tricks on your eyes," he said.

The body was not in an area where passersby would have likely seen it.

Officials remained where the body was found into Tuesday evening to collect evidence as they transition into the next stage of the investigation.

The discovery came just over three weeks after the ultramarathon runner was reported missing by his wife on July 10 — a day when triple-digit temperatures were forecast in Pleasanton. He failed to come home from what was supposed to be an hourlong, 8-mile run and left his phone in his car at the park's Moller Ranch staging area.

Kreycik leaves behind his wife, Jennifer Yao, and two young children. Some 1,300 donors raised $83,000 as of Tuesday afternoon through an online crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe. The money was meant to benefit search efforts and help Kreycik's family.

The search was difficult and unprecedented in Alameda County, where missing people are generally found within a day, said Ron Seitz, volunteer chief of Alameda County's search and rescue unit, at a news conference shortly after Kreycik's disappearance. Searchers endured the threat of mountain lions and rattlesnakes, blazing heat and rough terrain by foot, horse, plane, e-bike and off-road vehicles, using search dogs, drones and heat-detecting technology to look for signs of him.

The case was especially unusual as Pleasanton Ridge is usually heavily trafficked, making it likely that a passerby could have offered help, he said.

Official search efforts were dramatically scaled back within the week after Kreycik's disappearance after officials determined that he was either incapacitated or no longer in the area, though surveillance cameras near exits turned up no sign of Kreycik. Officials opted instead to focus on a targeted search, honing in on particular areas that might warrant a closer look.

Much of the search focused on the areas surrounding a trail Kreycik mapped on his phone.

Volunteer searchers continued all the while hitting the trails, knocking on doors and posting fliers. Kelly lauded volunteers for their unwavering dedication.

Some 12,600 Facebook users joined the Find Philip Kreycik Facebook page as of Tuesday. The volunteer search effort was led by Kreycik's close friends and drew hundreds of volunteers, including strangers, from across the Bay Area and beyond. Some of Kreycik's Harvard University classmates even joined in the search.

Kreycik was a fit and friendly hiker and runner, a legendary outdoorsman well-known in the Bay Area and Harvard University community for his "huge, jaw-dropping adventures," former Harvard classmate Tom Wooten told Patch days after his friend went missing.

Kreycik's love for nature is so great that he resurrected Harvard's Outing Club and "turned it into a really vibrant place" as club president, said Wooten, who took over the club shortly after Kreycik's departure. Kreycik was down-to-earth, humble and sometimes came off as shy.

Kreycik worked as a strategic analyst of clean energy transportation at Pacific Gas & Electric Co., according to his LinkedIn profile.

"A hidden part [of helping] that I think people realize, but it's often less recognized, is that it makes this incredibly lonely journey feel less alone," Kreycik's wife, Yao, told Wooten after he organized the online fundraiser for his friend's family.

Silacci of the Pleasanton Police Department said the Kreycik family offered its thanks to the city and local officials and businesses that offered support and donated food, water and supplies to volunteer search efforts.

Officials sent thoughts and prayers for Kreycik's family and said they would continue to support them in the coming weeks.

Police are still hoping to speak with anyone who may have encountered Kreycik in the hours prior to his disappearance. Anyone with information can call police at 925-931-5100.

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.

Full coverage from Patch:

• Philip Kreycik Search Revived Over The Weekend To No Avail
• Pleasanton Officials Resume Search For Philip Kreycik
• Missing Hiker: $80K Raised For Family, Friend Shares New Details
• Missing Runner: 1K Donate To Search Efforts, Family
• Pleasanton Locals Drive Search For Missing Runner Philip Kreycik
• Officials Scale Back Search As It Enters Day 6
• Missing Pleasanton Hiker Either Incapacitated Or Gone: Officials
• Volunteers Sought As Search For Philip Kreycik Continues