Missing Runner: 1K Donate To Search Efforts, Family

PLEASANTON, CA — Hundreds of donors across the world have pitched in money for missing runner Philip Kreycik's family and search efforts.

Some 1,000 donors pitched in give more than $60,000 as of Wednesday morning, roughly two days after an online crowdfunding campaign was created on GoFundMe. The fundraiser received roughly 1,700 shares at that time.

Organizer Tom Wooten, a former Harvard University classmate of Kreycik's, set up the fundraiser to benefit the search for his friend and to help Kreycik's family with subsequent expenses, he said on the GoFundMe page. Kreycik's family will donate any unneeded expenses to charity if he is found and the family does not need the full amount of the donations, he added.

Kreycik, 37, is the father of two young children and resides in Berkeley with his wife, Jen Yao.

"We are so incredibly grateful of the extremely large amount of support we have gotten on the ground, from people walking the trails to people donating food, and helping with all aspects of our lives," Yao told Wooten. Volunteers have even done the laundry for Kreycik's parents as they search for their son, she said.

Yao reported her husband, an ultramarathon runner, missing hours after he failed to come home July 10 from a run in Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park. Search efforts have focused along a loop saved to his phone, which was found in his car at the park's Moller Ranch staging area.

Hundreds of volunteers and search and rescue personnel have scoured more than 50 square miles in the area of the loop he planned to take. They have braved rattlesnakes and difficult terrain by foot and on horseback and via plane, e-bike and off-road vehicle, using search dogs, drones and heat-detecting technology.

"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," Yao told Wooten.

The search has so far turned up no sign of Kreycik, and official efforts were dramatically scaled back Thursday. Search and rescue teams hit the trails again over the weekend to check certain areas they determined warranted a second look, to no avail.

Pleasanton residents and businesses have rallied to support the search in their back yard. Flyers with Kreycik's photo and information have been posted along Foothill Boulevard. Inklings Cafe, Costco, Mr. Pickles, Porky's Pizza, Pizza Bello, Safeway, Lucky's, Gene's Fine Foods, Raley's and Grocery Outlet were among the local stores and eateries that stepped up to feed hundreds of searchers last week — many of whom have never met Kreycik.

Among them is Sandy Schneider, a longtime Pleasanton resident and community organizer who helps run the 6,300-member Pleasanton Community Facebook page to assemble locals for causes like these.

"We just can't understand how we have not found him yet," she said. "But, you know, he runs very fast. He could have very easily tripped or slid. We're just waiting for news at this point."

The search has been 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 last week. It's especially unusual since Pleasanton Ridge is such a popular park, and it's likely that a passerby could have offered help.

Anyone who wants to volunteer can check the Find Philip Kreycik Facebook page for updates and to get in touch with organizers.

Kreycik is described as white with a thin build and brown hair and eyes. Kreycik is a fit and friendly hiker and runner, a legendary outdoorsman who's well-known in the Bay Area and Harvard University community for his "huge, jaw-dropping adventures," Wooten previously told Patch. Kreycik works as a strategic analyst of clean energy transportation at Pacific Gas & Electric Co., according to his LinkedIn profile.

Anyone who may have information can contact Pleasanton police at 925-931-5100. Learn more about the fundraiser.

— Patch Editor Kat Schuster contributed to this report

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.

More:

• 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