Anthony Michael Martin, the Berkeley cyclist who was reported missing on Saturday, has been seen in Roseville, as recently as yesterday.
The Berkeley Police Department confirmed that there was a sighting of Martin with his bicycle in Roseville from a credible source on July 5. A hotel clerk in Roseville was sent a photo which he identified was Martin. He confirmed Martin was staying in the area.
A BPD press release states: “Mr. Martin did not appear to be in distress and as a adult, he is legally allowed to make the choices he has made. Some of the details of this confirmation and methods of locating him are ones that we would prefer not to share as they may compromise efforts in other/future investigations. In addition, since this is no longer a primary police matter, but a private matter, we feel that it is not appropriate to expose to the public.”
Martin, 29, was reported missing after he said he was going on a bike ride on Saturday in the Berkeley-Oakland hills, which started on Tunnel Road. When he did not return home that evening — he had plans to have dinner with his girlfriend Amaya James at 8:00 pm — his friends and family reached out to the media for help in raising the alarm, as well as filing a missing person report with the police.
James, 29, also of Berkeley, appeared on television to talk about Martin and the search that was underway for him.
The case provoked much interest in the the community. A Berkeleyside reader, Local Cyclist, wrote in our Comments section about a search party he organized in the area around Tunnel Road on Tuesday, where Martin’s cellphone had been found by an unrelated cyclist on Saturday.
Concern centered on the fact that Martin had been on a diet which involved fasting. It was feared he might have become weak or been physically impaired.
Reports in the media also suggested that Martin, who had worked at the nanofabrication laboratory at UC Berkeley and was an active member of the University Lutheran Chapel, might have been unhappy. He was said to be thinking of leaving his job and leaving California.
The BPD said this is no longer a police or criminal matter. “Mr. Martin has voluntarily left for whatever private, personal reasons only he can speak to. This is a private, personal, family matter now.”
