Search For Missing Jogger Philip Kreycik Comes Up Empty
PLEASANTON — On the fifth day of searching a Pleasanton regional park for missing Berkeley runner Phillip Kreycik, frustration is mounting among authorities.
“We are definitely at a point where we are a little
perplexed as to why we haven’t found Phillip yet. We’ll keep working. Where
there’s hope, we’ll keep working,” said Alameda County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray
Kelly.
Early Wednesday morning, crews focused on a new area of the
park where a family member heard something overnight.
According to a “Finding Philip Kreycik’” Facebook page, the
family member could hear cries for help on the Sunol side of the regional park
around 1 a.m. The yells were apparently coming from a canyon in the area.
At around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, a post office parking lot in
Sunol was the gathering spot for experienced hikers to go up in the hills to
follow this possible lead.
Unfortunately, there were no reported developments during
Wednesday’s activity after that promising lead, according to sheriff’s
investigators.
Hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement have been
searching the park since the weekend, looking for any sign of the 37-year-old
Berkeley resident, who never turned up after going for a jog Saturday morning
at the park.
Authorities said the search is unprecedented in scope, with
some of the agencies involved are using K-9’s, fixed-wing aircraft, and drones
as they comb through 50 square miles of brush and tough terrain in the Pleasanton
hills.
Wednesday morning, e-bikers and mountain bikers were being
asked to ride trails in the southern half of the park as the focus shifts
toward the area where the sounds were heard.
“We’re entering day five. Obviously we are concerned about
lack of water, shelter,” said Pleasanton Police Lt. Erik Silacci during an
update on the search late Wednesday morning.
Authorities have an Alameda County drone team en route to
the area to deploy drones and continue the search.
Crews are also going over already searched terrain to make
sure they don’t miss anything.
Although Wednesday’s search operations were scaling down,
the investigation is picking up. Every detective in the Pleasanton Police
Department is involved. They are currently going through Kreycik’s timeline on
Saturday from the time he left his house to when he arrived to Pleasanton.
“Can confirm that we do have him dropping off a package at a
parcel store in Oakland,” said Silacci.
The lieutenant said there wasn’t anything raising a red flag
so far, but authorities want to retrace his steps thoroughly.
“We have yet to identify an eyewitness who saw him on that
trail. And that’s why we’re asking for the public’s help,” explained Silacci.
“If you saw Phillip or even if you were on that trail that morning or that
afternoon please contact the Pleasanton Police Department.”
The huge effort that includes 59 search and rescue crews
from as far away as Santa Barbara continued to scour Pleasanton Ridge Regional
Park on Wednesday with no new signs of the missing jogger.
“The searchers all have GPS units on them. Those GPS units
broadcast live via their phones to our map here. You can see some of these dots
are moving; those are searchers we have in the field live as we speak,” said
Liam Anderson with Marin County Search and Rescue. “We have covered the vast
majority of high probability linear features throughout the search area. We’ve
also focused on the linear features, drainages, ridge lines; features that
traditionally attract lost and missing people.”
As far as East Bay authorities go, the massive search
operation will wrap up Wednesday night after another pass of drones and
aircraft using thermal imagery.
“Our own people out searching, we can see them from the
camera. We haven’t seen that human form, that shape. We aren’t seeing those
images,” said Kelly.
While Pleasanton police and the Alameda County Sheriff’s
Office will switch to a more reactive approach for their investigation after
the massive search over the past five days, The volunteers who have been part
of the search effort tell KPIX they will continue their efforts.
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