Hundreds join Bay Area search for missing man who went for a run in Pleasanton and never returned

J.R. Stone Image
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Hundreds join Bay Area-wide search for missing Pleasanton man
Police and hundreds of volunteers are searching for a missing 37-year-old Pleasanton man.

PLEASANTON, Calif. (KGO) -- Police are searching for a missing 37-year-old man in Pleasanton.

Philip Kreycik was last seen Saturday at 10:45 a.m. when he told his wife he was going out for a run in the hills near the Moller Ranch trails area. When he didn't return, she called for help.

Pleasanton police, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, park police and the CHP are using drones, aircraft and off-road vehicles in the search.

Crews worked into the nighttime hours Monday evening using a heat-sensing drone, equipped with high tech cameras to try and find the husband and father of two.

"Dogs had a scent on the first day that only went a small distance," said Lt. Erik Silacci of the Pleasanton Police Department.

That scent was lost down a trail off of Moller Ranch Drive near a water tower. Kreycik, of Berkeley is said to be an avid runner who is in great shape and has no known health conditions.

Kreycik is described as a white male with a thin build, brown hair, brown eyes and is presumed to be wearing running attire.

As of Monday evening, there are 100 people from 13 agencies searching for Kreycik and every Bay Area county is involved in the search.

Another 200 people joined friends and family to scour the area with a hope of finding Kreycik alive.

"The man is very resourceful and very athletic and we're hopeful it was just an injury and we can get to him, we just haven't found that spot yet," said Cynthia Selinger, whose husband has been organizing some of the volunteer work.

Sources say Kreycik had a watch on that tracked his run but it wasn't connected to the internet and would only link to his phone after a run.

That phone was found with his I.D. in his car, where he had parked it in a lot off Moller Ranch Drive.

Many of the volunteers don't even know Kreycik, but they were out Monday searching anyway.

"From one father to another, we both have small kids, two kids. I can only imagine, he said the same thing I was thinking, if we were lost we would want a search party out here," said Suraj Ephirajan who had been searching for four hours when we spoke with him.

Tuesday, it was confirmed he works for PG&E.

The utility said in a statement:

"We can confirm that Philip is a PG&E employee. We continue to be hopeful for his safe recovery and appreciate the efforts of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and volunteers to help find Philip."

Those with information about Kreycik's location are asked to contact the Pleasanton Police Department at (925) 931-5100.