THOUSAND OAKS : Authorities Call Off Search for Executive

With no indication of foul play in the disappearance 12 days ago of Philip Taylor Kramer, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department has called off its search for the Thousand Oaks computer executive and former bassist with the rock group Iron Butterfly.

But co-workers, family members and friends intensified their search Thursday for Kramer after a Canoga Park woman reported seeing a man that fit his description on Monday near Las Virgenes Road and the Mulholland Highway in the Santa Monica Mountains National Park, said Kramer’s sister, Kathy Kramer-Petersson.

“We were getting very desperate, but this news really gives us hope,” she said.

The family had already discussed dragging several lakes in the mountain area to look for his body, his sister said.

Kramer, 42, disappeared on Feb. 12 after making several frantic cellular phone calls to friends and family members, as well as a call to 911, while returning from a trip to Los Angeles.

His sister believes that Kramer, a partner in the computer company Total Multimedia Inc., may have been overwhelmed by his constant work on a mathematical formula meant to revolutionize the compression of data on computer disks. Dan Shields, his friend and business partner, agreed.

“This was more than just data using fractals to compress data,” he said. “We were searching for something much more universal. . . . I think he just got caught up in making this something like a spiritual discovery.”

Kramer left a message that day on the answering machine of his longtime friend and fellow Iron Butterfly band member Ron Bushy.

“It took me aback a little,” Bushy said. “He said, ‘Bush, this is Tails. I love you more than life itself.’ And then there was just dead air. It scared me.”

Kramer is 6 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs about 220 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a white dress shirt and blue jeans. Anyone with any information is encouraged to call Total Multimedia Inc. at (805) 371-0500 or the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department at (805) 494-8200.