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Amid enormous grief and sorrow, the family of Philip Kreycik gathered to thank the Pleasanton community on Thursday for offering their support and strength during the nearly month-long search for the ultrarunner missing on the Pleasanton Ridge, which came to a tragic ending earlier this week.
“Life is truly fragile and delicate, and the past three, almost four weeks, show me that crystal clear,” said Jen Yao, Philip’s widow, at a press conference Thursday morning in front of the Pleasanton Public Library. “Treat it with joy and kindness. Take on the hardships and heartaches with courage and bravery.”
Though Kreycik, his wife and two young children lived in Berkeley, news of the 37-year-old’s disappearance in Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park on July 10 spread rapidly through the Pleasanton community, which pulled together and continued exhaustive searches for the missing runner, weeks after the official search effort was significantly scaled back.
The family received word on Tuesday that a volunteer who had gone to search for Kreycik on their own that afternoon found a body presumed to be Kreycik’s underneath a tree, about 250 feet off a game trail in a thickly wooded area. Positive identification is still pending, as is a coroner’s autopsy to determine cause of death, but officials believe Kreycik may have succumbed to an injury or heat exhaustion.
Philip’s mother, Marcia Kreycik, said during the family’s public appearance Thursday that hearing the news “broke us, but we had each other. It made us really grateful to the people who persisted even though there was not so much hope.”
“Finding Philip now means looking at the world through his eyes … and I want to share that vision of a good, caring community,” Marcia said. “We especially appreciate the people that have come to support us here.”
The enormous outpouring of support from Pleasanton helped sustain the family during a dark period of their lives, said Keith Kreycik, Philip’s father.
“It’s really given us the strength, given me the strength to keep on going and to try to make the world the kind of place I know Philip wanted it to be,” Keith said. “It really is something that we want to do, to make sure that as we go forward, we’re living the way Philip wanted us to live.”
Though it’s “both painful and joyful to remember all of the wonderful things that happened to us and how blessed we’ve been,” Philip’s family is now looking to a future without him and raising his two children to follow in his footsteps.
“Right now our focus is on preparing for the future and making sure that Phil’s kids and his family have what they need to do the things that we know Philip would want us to be doing,” Keith said.
Yao reminded people that “even when we think we’re strong and capable, accidents can happen that can really derail us from the course we set ourselves on.”
“There really are no words to truly express how difficult this is and how much we appreciate everybody’s help. Hug your families because you really don’t know what is going to happen in the next moment,” Yao said. “Please take care of each other.”