A smartwatch owned by runner Philip Kreycik, who went missing last July 10 at Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, is helping investigators through its GPS data needed to determine his cause of death.
The information from the device is providing the investigators with ideas of what the runner has faced during that day, while the autopsy has not yet been completed.
The 37-year-old runner from Berkely took a run at the park under the 106 degrees temperatures recorded that day.
“Those are some of the highest temperatures we’ve had all year out here in Pleasanton,” according Sgt. Ray Kelly, in his interview with KRON4.
Kelly said the famed trail was not visited by several mountain bikers, hikers, and runners the day Kreycik went because of the scorching temperature.
According to Kreycik’s smartwatch’s GPS data, he kicked off his run at an intense pace but slowed down to jogging after 45 minutes.
The device tracked that he settled to walking after another hour and Kelly said he might be confused and strayed off from the path he intended to take.
“The data shows erratic movement,” Kelly said. “It was likely a heat-related illness, based on everything we know.”
After 24 days, he was found dead under a tree.
Kreycik was found to have died less than five hours after he took off, investigators said, citing the GPS data.
Some causes of death were dismissed by the coroner from the initial autopsy.
“We can rule out any foul play, any animal attack, any severe injury,” Kelly said.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the coroner may never be able to determine the runner’s cause of death. Investigators, however, are nearly sure that Kreycik was struck by a heat-related emergency like a serious heatstroke.
In addition, investigators said the runner seemed to have not had any water with him when he lost his life. Kelly said that this situation emphasizes the necessity of safety measures when going for an outdoor exercise.
