East Bay officials on Tuesday announced they had found a body of a man they believe is a Berkeley runner who has been missing since July 10.
Officials from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, Pleasanton Police Department and the East Bay Regional Park District told reporters in a press conference they found a body matching the description of Philip Kreycik, 35, in a remote area of Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park.
The Alameda County Coroner's Bureau will take over the investigation to identify the body and determine a cause of death.
The body believed to be Kreycik's was found near a tree, about 250 yards away from a "game trail" typically used by animals. It is not a designated trail for runners but located approximately a quarter of a mile from the end of the trail where investigators believe Kreycik should've turned around.
That area wasn't easy to differentiate between the end of the trail, according to officials.
"(It) appears from the reports that I've received that this area is not readily available to get to," Capt. Lance Brede of the East Bay Regional Park District Police Department said in a press conference. "It's not traveled by the public. It's in an area that's not designated for recreation, so it would not be something that somebody would come across (in a search)."
Officials said the volunteer who discovered the body "set off either on his own, or with a small search party" on Tuesday. After finding the body around 2:30 p.m., the volunteer then contacted their friends also volunteering, and the group of them reached out to the park district's police department.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office and Pleasanton Police Department announced on Friday they would continue searching for Kreycik, over two weeks after the former agency called off its search.
On Saturday, Pleasanton Police Lt. Chris Niederhaus told reporters officials "pretty much 100% covered where he could've been, should've been or would likely show up."
Pleasanton Lt. Erik Silacci told reporters on Tuesday that search-and-rescue teams had "a very good starting point" with Kreycik's running route, and "the area where we think he would've gone was very thoroughly searched."
"We believe, based on where he was found, that he should've made a turn," Silacci said. "He should've made a turn to probably go back down to where he originally parked. He didn't make that turn, and/or he got disoriented up there and ended up where he was found. That's what it appears happened at this point."
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