California man who disappeared into thin air found dead, family want answers

A California man who went out for a run in the neighbourhood has been found dead three weeks after he vanished into thin air. Police said a hiker who was volunteering for searching Philip Kreychik found his remains in an area of heavy bushes on Tuesday afternoon.

Pleasanton police said that the remains have been discovered at the Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park.

In a police report, Kreycik's family said he left home on Saturday, July 10 at around 11 am for an 8-mile run and told his wife that he would be out for an hour, but the father of two toddlers never returned.

Kreycik's wife, Jen Yao was confident that he would be found as he was experienced as an endurance athlete who was well-familiar with rural terrain and sweltering temperatures. Police said the day he went missing; the region recorded a temperature of 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 Celcius).

Authorities launched a huge search operation to find Kreycik. Over a dozen agencies from all over California, more than 300 volunteers, sniffer dogs, helicopters and even thermal imaging technology was deployed to find him. However, the search was lower down after five days. "Once we heard they found Philip, it was overwhelming, particularly for the community because this just won't occur around here," Justin Fisher, who joined in the search in the first week, told ABC San Francisco station KGO.

Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff's Department said that they wanted to bring him home alive, and delivering the news of his death is hard for everyone. Authorities said the probe is still open to figuring out what exactly happened to Kreycik.