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

[Andreee]

I didn't bookmark it, and am now concerned about the terms of service and social media. I'm a little shaky with this thread and the AMA and what is permissible to directly share after the clean up. If you search, you should be able to find people discussing.

I do not want to seem unhelpful. Just do not want to link to anything that might not be Websleuths approved and get the discussion closed again. I usually post on the cases for people missing in the 1970s, so they obviously wouldn't have the same kind of "hot" action.

However, you can post information via private message on this site that isn't allowed here on the thread.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

His last run was July 9th on Strava. There’s nothing after.
I don’t see what you’re talking about. Can you snapshot it?

I think that might just be the end date of the workout week. Either that or it's when he last edited his route. But I don't see those in my view.

It's a bit down the page, on the right side:

(image source: PK's strava page)

 

[Andreee]

No-one pushes themselves into heatstroke on purpose. It just happens, even with so called experienced runners.

He went running in the middle of the day, 106°F, with no water and no phone, having done a run less than 16 hours previously.

The very fact he was out there in those conditions, tells you he was being a bit careless, and not cautious.

If an unexpected incident happened, then he wasn't prepared. MIT graduate or not, Outing Club member or not, it doesn't matter. Incidents, accidents and medical episodes can happen to everyone.

Actually, an experienced runner commented in a past post that runners do train in extreme heat for upcoming competitions for endurance reasons, but it seems Philip wasn't at that level.

 

[NancyDrewPonders]

hi Beek, I’ve done it, if I knew a stream was within range; dozens of times. I’ve gone off trail to find the stream, too. (If I exhausted my water or the trails water spouts weren’t working as planned). I’d take off my shoes and socks, and lay horizontal in the stream for quite some time. Amazing’. My core temp and heart decreased markedly. Enough so I didn’t need to drink water the six miles back.

I think Philip would’ve been resourceful enough to do things like this. There are troughs, water fountains, etc along the path. He would’ve foreseen being dizzy, overheating, felt thirsty to find a water source. My only guess is trying to find shade or a private place to urinate etc behind a tree and possibly slipping and falling. Or running fast coming back due to time and rolling downhill and such. It’s odd he hasn’t been found though if natural causes.

It's a bit down the page, on the right side:
View attachment 306316
(image source: PK's strava page)

I think that means as of July 10th he still holds those achievements, nobody has ran faster etc in those past runs yet

 

[Normancita]

Honest question…
To those of you thinking this was a health or medical issue, possibly related to the extreme heat…where is his body? Why no clues?
It simply doesn’t make sense.
There’s something bigger going on.

 

[Beekarina]

hi Beek, I’ve done it, if I knew a stream was within range; dozens of times. I’ve gone off trail to find the stream, too. (If I exhausted my water or the trails water spouts weren’t working as planned). I’d take off my shoes and socks, and lay horizontal in the stream for quite some time. Amazing’. My core temp and heart decreased markedly. Enough so I didn’t need to drink water the six miles back.

Hey Mdm....Hmm....interesting...maybe he planned on cooling off in a stream, and when he went in search, the one he had planned on was dry from the droughts?

 

[Beekarina]

However, you can post information via private message on this site that isn't allowed here on the thread.

We can? I thought that was frowned upon too? I will reread the TOS again. What I found and was mentioning isn't anything crazy. They were just accounts of people saying they went out and had one experience or the other.

 

[Sillybilly]

This post lands at random.

When people join Websleuths, they agree to specific Terms of Service. When members join and immediately set about repeatedly violating those rules, and arguing with Mods and Admins against those rules, they don't last here long.

This is Tricia's site and Tricia's rules. If people just want to say whatever THEY want to say, they can go elsewhere or start their own website.

 

[10ofRods]

Right, and everything I have found publicly available about these trails, leads me to believe they're not the type of place an experienced person would get lost. At least not in a serious way. PK has solid navigation skills, and solid survival skills.

Let's talk about his not being "heat adapted". As a former president of an outing club, he would 100% have knowledge and practice with being outdoors in all kinds of conditions. This is just a casual Saturday morning run, so what motivation would he have to push himself into heat stroke?

These are the reasons I am leaning towards either a catastrophic medical emergency, like a sudden heart attack where he somehow dragged himself off the trail and has been tragically overlooked, or he parked the car and never ran the trail.

I have no explanation for why he would do the latter.

Sadly, one of the symptoms of heat stroke in most people is...euphoria. Not only have I experienced it myself, but I did some work interviewing people at DV and GC. A person feels invincible and happy. Then they flop over.

If he collapsed from heat, yes, if his body was still operational, he would have headed for shade. But the increased body. temperature might have already been too high/ongoing.

Heat adaptation isn't a real thing. At least, it's not measurable nor is it absolute.

If the ambient temperature of the planet were to become 110, we'd all need A/C or our body temp would slowly go up. Just how slowly depends on many things (fat actually helps slow the process down a little, as the heat inside the body is dissipated into tissue that's unneeded for immediate preservation of life).

I've written a couple of articles on heat in the National Parks. 105F temperatures outside are fine for about an hour, but if a person simply stands, not exerting, in a 105F spot for a day, their internal temperature is likely to go up to at least 103F (which is not good - but survivable).

If it's 109F, DV puts up signs warning people not to be outside for more than 30 minutes (less if you're walking instead of standing). At 120F, they say no time outside the car (they used to say 5 minutes but I think it's 5 minutes at 115F now).

If a person is running, the times and risks have to be adjusted. People with larger body mass also have more skin, so can dissipate heat a bit that way. PK was not a big person and had very little fat, so those two mechanisms would not be available to him as part of an adaptation. I wonder if he had a white hat with a brim (the head really needs to be cool down). Water bottle and terry cloth lining to hat or similar really helps (evaporative cooling).

 

[LifeIsAMystery]

Local media keeping story alive
Pleasanton Patch on Twitter: "Volunteers continue to search Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, where Philip Kreycik of Berkeley went missing. https://t.co/82xwrqIclZ" / Twitter

 

[Sillybilly]

Question for Mods: if we stumble on public comments similar to a missing person's Strava, but predating, (made by missing person in a public setting) would that be something we can share?

Whatever the victim has said publicly is allowed. (What would not be allowed would be any responses by others to what the victim has said).

 

[MntnHiker]

If he had collapsed ON the running trail, then most certainly his body would have been found as soon as they started searching. But if he went off trail for whatever reason and succumbed (to heat, injury, illness or whatever), he may have not been found yet. It took over a year to find Paul Miller in Joshua Tree. It took several years to find Dale Stehling in Mesa Verde NP. Perhaps he is below some foliage or something and has just been missed MOO.

He (or someone in his car) was obviously there as his car is there. We don't have reason to believe someone else drove his car there, at least not right now. So if he was there, there is a possibility he didn't run the trail. Maybe he was intercepted in the staging area before he got to run. Or maybe he got out, stretched a bit, went to begin the run at the trailhead and decided, "No, too hot out to do this safely today." Obviously something would have happened to him after that thought though, as he is missing. What? I'm not sure. Although one of the links posted above mention this area is "well-trafficked," I'm not sure how trafficked it would be on a 100+ degree day. If something nefarious DID happen there, no one may have been around to see it.

 

[LifeIsAMystery]

It's a bit down the page, on the right side:
View attachment 306316
(image source: PK's strava page)

Interesting. I don't use that app, maybe someone who does can explain more?

 

[Beekarina]

Whatever the victim has said publicly is allowed. (What would not be allowed would be any responses by others to what the victim has said).

Thank you for clarifying!

 

[LifeIsAMystery]

Honest question…
To those of you thinking this was a health or medical issue, possibly related to the extreme heat…where is his body? Why no clues?
It simply doesn’t make sense.
There’s something bigger going on.

Maybe under foliage in a ravine, seems easy to miss from photos and descriptions of the scrub brush. Due to the heat the day he went missing the heat sensing equipment was of little use and trees and foliage would also impact it per statements by LE, MOO is that it is quite possible that he is in the park and not yet found.

 

[Beekarina]

Ok. PK ran this race on a hot day in July. I am providing as proof he had some experience running in warm weather. I'm not saying this conclusively proves anything. Only to demonstrate he was not someone who only ran in mild conditions.

https://groups.google.com/g/cambridge-area-trail-running/c/UVAycfE-kbU

If you search the race, his name shows as having finished 7th. Here is a link:

DoubleJRunning: Ascutney Mountain Race

Historical weather was not available for Mt Ascutney, but it was in the upper 90s and hour and a half south in Boston where PK lived. Generally, temperatures are around the same, with some variability. That is, it would almost certainly not have been a mild summer day in Vermont. The linked to site with race details confirms it was a very warm day.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Here's a guide to heat adaptation for runners. It takes several run sessions and 7-14 days for your body to fully adjust: plasma volume, core temperature, sweating rate, etc.
How Long Does It Take to Adjust to Heat? | Runner's World

ETA this article refers to a review that I can't access. It mentions they also further discuss relation of fitness levels and heat adaptation in the review.

 

[LifeIsAMystery]

Victims are often found in areas that were previously searched or nearby
https://twitter.com/SongOfTheStars/status/1418402340957298694

 

[Andreee]

We can? I thought that was frowned upon too? I will reread the TOS again. What I found and was mentioning isn't anything crazy. They were just accounts of people saying they went out and had one experience or the other.

Being as one of the moderators 'liked' my post re. private messages being fine, I think you are cool to do them Plus a few other times the moderators advised us to pm

 

[Andreee]

Victims are often found in areas that were previously searched or nearby
https://twitter.com/SongOfTheStars/status/1418402340957298694

Absolutely! It is sometimes amazing to me that a body/remains can be found in previously closely searched areas. And bodies that hadn't been put there later that is.