Found Deceased CA - Philip Kreycik, 37, Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, 10 Jul 2021

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Absolutely - the best conditions for scent dogs is cooler, perhaps with a little cover of trees to block the sun and the wind.
There has been mention of the scent ending near a trail with a water tank, which I am assuming is near the top of Moller Ranch Dr. However there are water tanks all over the area so that could be a bad assumption. There are areas behind the fenced off-limits to the public areas with water tanks and water tanks on private property as well.

If he somehow got lost in Tehan Canyon, that area is so steep that I do not really know if dogs would be able to go down there. If you read this article it says "Quick said that Tehan Canyon is so steep and rugged that it may be impractical to develop a trail to any vantage point below the falls."
Park District buy seasonal gem in Tehan Falls – East Bay Times

If it so steep and hazardous there, I'm not certain a SAR team would even be able to traverse the area with dogs. Also even though the police have found his cell phone and it had a route of a run up to Pleasanton Ridge, there is no guarantee that the route on the cell phone matched what he actually intended to run that day or where he wanted to go. At one of the press conferences, law enforcement said there are two possibilities: 1) he is up in trails somewhere or 2) he left the vicinity. I don't think at this point anyone knows what happened. If law enforcement has figured it out, they haven't disclosed it yet.
 
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The Alameda County Sheriff's Office sent out a tweet this evening https://twitter.com/ACSOSheriffs/status/1416950338955866113 and a Facebook post Log In or Sign Up to View with a recap of what they did on Day #8--- they went into steep ravines with high angle rope searches today with 169 search and rescue personnel. Still no luck locating Philip Kreycik and "Like the community, we are frustrated and perplexed that this massive effort has yielded no results. We feel we should have found Philip by now."

A partial T shirt was located during a ravine search but it doesn't belong to him.

In the Facebook recap, ACSO said in SEARCH DAY #8 FOR PHILIP KREYCIK:

It included 169 professional searchers throughout the state and support staff, 10 law enforcement officers and 8 fire representatives.

The steep terrain areas were searched, including private property and adjacent park land.

They followed up on 72 hours worth of tips and leads that came in from police and community reports.

With the community search team and community volunteers throughout the past 8 days, it totals thousands of search hours.

They ask anyone who knows anything or has any information to contact the Pleasanton Police Department.
 
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Runners and Hikers should wear or carry a whistle when on trails!

Reconciling a 33 minute drive in order to run for 45 minutes, then drive another 45 minutes to Stockton is difficult. Especially since the run route may include crossing over into private property which, to me, a Harvard and MIT grad would not want to do. It also means he would only run for appx 22 minutes before turning back to reach his vehicle. Typically, wouldn't an 8 mile run require appx 60 minutes for experienced distance runners and not 45 minutes?

Within 3 days of missing, LEO announces he may have left the vicinity. What led them to believe this so soon? Is he considered to be wealthy with funds for beginning anew? Was he exhibiting signs of depression?

He ran with a buddy the evening before so why did he feel the need to run in the heat of the next day? Then, there's that pesky land owner who has denied SAR teams access. Why?

Also, if he was wearing the GPS watch, why can't LEO check his phone for his last location? Many sq miles searched and hundreds of searchers but none have reported seeing vultures so that's good news.

A genius in the Energy Efficiency department of PG&E could place him in a stressful yet strategic arena politically.
https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/msprog/bus/pge_pres_te_wg.pdf

Governor's Executive Order
Zero Emission new cars sold by 2035
Zero Emission heavy duty vehicles by 2045
Governor Newsom Announces California Will Phase Out Gasoline-Powered Cars & Drastically Reduce Demand for Fossil Fuel in California’s Fight Against Climate Change | California Governor

From experience, a Smoothie King would be the ideal place for a Power Lunch after a run or possibly, but not probable, a pre-run Power Brunch. Sandwiches are also served. Would this location be on his way to the trails? Perhaps they have security cameras.

Address: 5 W Angela St - At Main St & 1st St -Pleasanton
https://www.yelp.com/biz/juice-and-java-express-pleasanton?osq=smoothie
 
If Philip Kreycik had arrived at Moller Ranch and found out in order to do the run he had to climb gates and trespass into private property or into off-limits land bank EBRPD property and he decided not to do that, if he had still wanted to run the general area, he could have:

A. Driven to the Castle Ridge staging area that accesses Pleasanton Ridge directly of the one further down on Foothill Road near Sunol (which he likely did not do since his car was left at Moller Ranch).
B. Met up with someone who is a Pleasanton resident and ridden with that person to the gate at the base of Golden Eagle, a neighborhood with many high priced mansions, then driven up the hill in their vehicle to the Augustin Bernal Park staging area (city owned) that accesses Pleasanton Ridge http://www.cityofpleasantonca.gov/pdf/AugustinBernalMap.pdf Access to pass the gate which has a guard near the base of Foothill Road requires an ID that says you are a Pleasanton resident like a Driver's License, or a water/utility bill with a Pleasanton address, or a student ID from a Pleasanton school or some other proof of identity. Pleasanton residents, if I recall this correctly, can bring in a guest.

The only way non-residents can get access to the Golden Eagle community and the Augustin Bernal Park is if they get a permit/pass that lasts a week. Augustin Bernal Park – P-Town Life | Pleasanton’s link to activities and resources for youth and families

I don't think the guard would have let him in the Augustin Bernal park with his vehicle unless he had a permit/pass. However, he could have gotten in if he was a passenger in a Pleasanton resident's vehicle. There may be a way to get in there other ways, but I don't know exactly how.

If the guard writes down license plates of those that come in with an ID or permit/pass and saves the records, maybe they know who was up there last Saturday a week ago.

I don't know if the search teams have searched Augustin Bernal Park. The trails lead to Pleasanton Ridge. I doubt the volunteer searchers would be able to get past the guard at the gate at the access point off of Foothill Road unless they received special permission from the city. But they could have searched the park by just using the trails from Pleasanton Ridge and going down into Augustin Bernal park. Also I don't know if the SAR searched that park either.

Augustin Bernal Park is right next to Pleasanton Ridge Park, is mainly wooded and large and perhaps it has been searched, but so far I don't recall hearing that park mentioned specifically as a search area. Maybe it has been searched though.
 
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Runners and Hikers should wear or carry a whistle when on trails!

Reconciling a 33 minute drive in order to run for 45 minutes, then drive another 45 minutes to Stockton is difficult. Especially since the run route may include crossing over into private property which, to me, a Harvard and MIT grad would not want to do. It also means he would only run for appx 22 minutes before turning back to reach his vehicle. Typically, wouldn't an 8 mile run require appx 60 minutes for experienced distance runners and not 45 minutes?

Within 3 days of missing, LEO announces he may have left the vicinity. What led them to believe this so soon? Is he considered to be wealthy with funds for beginning anew? Was he exhibiting signs of depression?

He ran with a buddy the evening before so why did he feel the need to run in the heat of the next day? Then, there's that pesky land owner who has denied SAR teams access. Why?

Also, if he was wearing the GPS watch, why can't LEO check his phone for his last location? Many sq miles searched and hundreds of searchers but none have reported seeing vultures so that's good news.

A genius in the Energy Efficiency department of PG&E could place him in a stressful yet strategic arena politically.
https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/msprog/bus/pge_pres_te_wg.pdf

Governor's Executive Order
Zero Emission new cars sold by 2035
Zero Emission heavy duty vehicles by 2045
Governor Newsom Announces California Will Phase Out Gasoline-Powered Cars & Drastically Reduce Demand for Fossil Fuel in California’s Fight Against Climate Change | California Governor

From experience, a Smoothie King would be the ideal place for a Power Lunch after a run or possibly, but not probable, a pre-run Power Brunch. Sandwiches are also served. Would this location be on his way to the trails? Perhaps they have security cameras.

Address: 5 W Angela St - At Main St & 1st St -Pleasanton
https://www.yelp.com/biz/juice-and-java-express-pleasanton?osq=smoothie
Hmmm landowner refusing sar access….
 
I've been looking in news articles and the Find Philip Kreycik search page on Facebook for verification that a landowner refused SAR access and can't find it - would appreciate it if someone would post a link to an official source of this information.
Good question. I thought I saw it a few days ago in the google docs search summary, but older info there is replaced as it is being regularly updated. It's possible that one or more landowners had refused access to volunteer searchers but not to professional SAR. There were comments that official SAR search maps were more comprehensive than public volunteer maps. At least one comment in the FB discussion also suggests a landowner has now searched their 10 acre property themselves.
 
Good question. I thought I saw it a few days ago in the google docs search summary, but older info there is replaced as it is being regularly updated. It's possible that one or more landowners had refused access to volunteer searchers but not to professional SAR. There were comments that official SAR search maps were more comprehensive than public volunteer maps. At least one comment in the FB discussion also suggests a landowner has now searched their 10 acre property themselves.

OK, so behind the gate at Tehan Canyon Road, the road and all the properties are private except for I believe 10 Tehan Canyon Road (4 acres), the Glenn Property including the house, which I believe was purchased by the EBRPD in 2017 - see http://www.acgov.org/board/bos_calendar/documents/DocsAgendaPlan_11_07_17/5EBRPD Glenn.pdf If you look at the document you can see a map (p. 33) of the EBRPD Pleasanton Ridge Park, the "Land Bank" off-limits area, this property and some photos of inside the Tehan Canyon Rd gate. (The property was purchased using funds from the Altamont Landfill fund so this is why this purchase by EBRPD had to go through the Alameda County Govt approval).

The address at 10 Tehan Canyon Road is the only one I know that is owned by the East Bay Regional Park District....it isn't open to the public, but is in Land Bank status. I don't know if anyone is living at the house or if it is empty. The others behind the gate are owned by private landowners, including the road.

One of the Group admins/moderators posted on the Find website a few days ago (3 days ago) in regards to posting the Missing Person poster - "Post one on the gate that enters Tehan Canyon Road. Not sure of which exact property but there was one that would not let authorities search on their property"

The gate referenced is I believe the gate at the bottom of Tehan Canyon Road at Serenity Terrace. Tehan Canyon Road is a private, gated road not part of the East Bay Regional Park District and there are signs on it that say Keep Out and Private Property. Many of the areas around Pleasanton Ridge on the EBRPD park map for the regional park say things like "Private Property/No Trespassing" etc. at the park boundaries drawn on the official map.

Then one of the neighbors near the top of Tehan Canyon Road got into a PM discussion with the moderator, but I don't know what the outcome of the discussion was. Landowners do not have to give consent for their property to be searched, but law enforcement can always go through the process to obtain a warrant if they want to.
 
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'Perplexed': Mystery of the missing Bay Area runner continues

"We truly feel we have done an enormous effort covering all possible scenarios during the past eight days," Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Sunday evening. "Like the community, we are frustrated and perplexed that this massive effort has yielded no results. We feel we should have found Philip by now."

"We re-checked areas we had searched before that had limited access. We wanted to go back in to those difficult areas to be 100% sure. These areas included deep ravines with high angle rope teams traversing the steep terrain. We also searched private property areas, adjacent park land, to make sure we were exhausting every possible scenario," Kelly said in the statement. "We followed up on 72 hours worth of tips and leads that came in from police and community reports."

Kreycik's family is still holding onto hope that Philip may be alive but disoriented, possibly in an outlying barn or building. They have urged residents to check their properties.
 
Weekend Search For Missing Jogger Comes Up Empty; 'We Feel We Should Have Found Philip By Now'

A massive weekend search effort failed to uncover any new clues as to the fate of Philip Kreycik, a jogger who was believed to be missing in Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park since July 10th.

Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office echoed the growing frustration surrounding the search in a news release Sunday night.

“We truly feel we have done an enormous effort covering all possible scenarios during the past eight days,” Kelly said in a Facebook post. “Like the community, we are frustrated and perplexed that this massive effort has yielded no results. We feel we should have found Philip by now.”

On Sunday morning, a team consisting of 169 professional searchers, 10 law enforcement officers and 8 fire department personal joined family members in the largest effort to date.
 
Philip Kreycik Search - VOLUNTEER NEEDS & FAQ

Philip’s Last Known Whereabouts
Do we know that Philip actually entered the park?

  • His car was at the Moller Ranch Staging Area before 11AM on Saturday, July 10th, 2021.
  • The Pleasanton Police and SAR team are looking into all possibilities. We are looking for any confirmation via witnesses on the trail or home cameras near the area for sightings. Right now Police have stated that all evidence points to Phillip entering the park, but we also are encouraging anyone in the area with camera devices to double check for a sign of Phillip.
  • Neighborhood cameras checked by police could neither confirm, nor rule out, Philip entering the park.
  • Scent dogs tracked him to the start of the trail but no further: many explanations exist for why they may have lost the scent there even if he continued on.
  • Footprints matching his running shoes were found and photographed within the park.
 
Philip Kreycik Search - VOLUNTEER NEEDS & FAQ

About the Search

Have the authorities and volunteers tried tracking Philip via his smart watch or phone?

  • Yes, the authorities have tried tracking him using his watch. His phone was left in the car and is in police hands - all available technical capabilities of the phone and phone data are being explored.
Has IR detection equipment been used?

  • Yes, this has been extensively used by rescue agencies using a variety of aircraft. Generally daytime temperatures were too high for it to be useful, and the nature of the terrain made many areas impenetrable to aerial thermal imaging. Handheld flaring and imaging was also done in primary search zones.
Has anyone looked for camera footage?

  • The police have collected all available camera footage. Some trail cameras have not yet been analyzed fully.
 
I have absolutely no knowledge of ultra-runners on the trails, but based on my limited hiking I can see how easy it would be to get overcome by heat and trip, falling into the undergrowth, down a slope.

One thing I DO find strange is that his wife reported him missing at 2pm. That seems pretty quick considering that he only arrived at the trail head at 11 am, and it would likely take a while to drive back to his house after the end of his planned run. Did Philip have a planned commitment? Was that why his wife reported it so soon? I've often taken longer than planned on a hike as I've explored an offshoot trail. But then I don't have a young family, where free time is very limited.

Philip Kreycik July 10 MP
There was almost an immediate sense of urgency when Mr Kreycik did not arrive for his engagement that was meant to be follow his quick run. His wife would be there in Stockton waiting. Then, knowing there's trouble afoot when he is running late.

Dropped off package for return
11:00am Arrives to begin run
Short Run 45 minutes - maybe bit longer for 8 miles - in the heat
11:45am - does not make it back to his parked vehicle - more heat

+ 45 minute drive to Stockton = 12:30pm - Due there at what time?

Heavy traffic - Stuck in a jam - In line at the drive thru - Smoothie King
Stockton for engagement by 1 - 1:30 at the most allotted excess time
1:00 - 2:00 Why isn't he answering his phone?
2:00pm Do not hesitate! Call 911 - File Missing Persons Report

JMHOO
 
From the Independent newspaper in the Bay Area Search Continues Friday for Missing Runner there is an interesting quote that I have not seen so far from law enforcement....sounds like the Livermore Independent reporters contacted the police for some more detail.

The Pleasanton Police is quoted as:

"Kreycik’s car was found at the park, and Silacci said police believed Kreycik was either on the mountain, or “he is somewhere else.”

Investigators also were examining his background, routes he might take to the park, and his “financials.”

“We’re going to go where the evidence takes us,” Silacci said."
 
Where is Philip Kreycik? His family needs him. It's Day 9. They're calling off the searches bc they've searched over 13 sq miles + repelled down slopes of ravines + flew spec drone w infrared tracking. Planes flew in grid patterns. Boots and LEO on the ground. Hundreds of instructed and organized volunteers.


Were his car keys with Philip? And, with cell phone inside the car :eek:. Tshirt, too. Did he utilize a magnetic holder for his car key and secret the car key holder nearly anywhere in a hiding spot on or under the car?

How far do K9s get taken down a trail until they turn back? Would it matter to the K9s ability to target on Mr Kreycik if he perspired profusely thereby tossing beads of sweat with dna + scent cells onto the ground. Shirt's in da car? Philip was packing light for this run.

Since he'd run the evening prior as well, was he currently training and preparing for an upcoming marathon on July 10?

My daughter ran marathons in TX, Chicago + for many years seeking the prestigious yet elusive invitation to The Boston Marathon. Typically, when training for a marathon, one wakes up early and meets w a team of runners led by a personal trainer/coach. Your distance at various markers + running time is recorded. A chip in one shoe tracks your progress in real time online. Fasting or a sip of black coffee is fine but eat healthy evening before.

After the grueling journey, there's a banana, maybe yogurt, waiting in your vehicle, on your car seat along with a gosh huge size of water. Half a banana could be eaten prior. Staying hydrated is key to distance runners' performances. Peanut butter crackers eaten if feeling woozy is alright, if needed.

Dropping by for a Smoothie King Power Lunch after, would be bingo!

I am curious about the Admin of the FB pg stating he knows details he cannot reveal. (pg 6 of thread) Kreycik is lost or injured and needs a whistle. I noted a small stream in the area but I'm not sure his direction carried him alongside the water source.

POST #80 @cvaldez1975
"From the Find Philip Kreycik Facebook page, one poster reports that one of the property owners along Tehan Canyon Road would not allow law enforcement/official SAR to search their property." :(
 
Since he'd run the evening prior as well, was he currently training and preparing for an upcoming marathon on July 10? My daughter ran marathons in TX, Chicago + for many years seeking the prestigious yet elusive invitation to The Boston Marathon.
rsbm
Maybe he was training for something, but maybe not. Sometimes trail running is its own reward. I kind of think he just enjoys running fast up and down hills (MOO), which might explain his attraction to the Pleasant Ridge Trails. It doesn't look like he had entered any running events since leaving the Mass area in 2017. Most marathon and trail race results are recorded at athlinks.com and ultrasignup.com, respectively. You can see his results there. I think with his speed he could have easily qualified for the Boston Marathon if he wanted to, but if he cared about that he would have done it when he lived there. Most of his prior events that I saw were trail runs and mountain run events.
 
Maybe he was training for something, but maybe not. Sometimes trail running is its own reward. I kind of think he just enjoys running fast up and down hills (MOO), which might explain his attraction to the Pleasant Ridge Trails. It doesn't look like he had entered any running events since leaving the Mass area in 2017. Most marathon and trail race results are recorded at athlinks.com and ultrasignup.com, respectively. You can see his results there. I think with his speed he could have easily qualified for the Boston Marathon if he wanted to, but if he cared about that he would have done it when he lived there. Most of his prior events that I saw were trail runs and mountain run events.
I agree, he was just fitting in a run because that’s what he does most days. I know a ton of people like Philip and I am very familiar with this park. I used to live in Berkeley and Pleasanton. He would likely have run on-trail, very fast, and been on his way to Stockton, no getting lost or falling in a ravine. I don’t know where or how he could hide this long. I believe there would be signs of an attack by human or animal. Maybe he wanted to disappear? This is a really strange case because there aren’t many places he could be. Moo
 
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