FAMILY SEARCHES FOR MISSING MAN : MYSTERY NOW 2 YEARS OLD.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

At noon Wednesday, Kathy Kramer broke from her daily routine and thought for a moment about her brother.

Other relatives and friends of the charismatic rocker-turned-scientist Philip Taylor Kramer surely did the same thing with the approach of 11:59 a.m., the minute of the last known communication from a man who then vanished.

``I thought about Taylor off and on during the day, but I couldn't focus on it for too long,'' Kathy Kramer said. ``It's just too painful.''

That morning two years ago, Taylor Kramer worked out on his StairMaster, then headed for Los Angeles International Airport to pick up some friends. They never connected, however, and Kramer headed toward home.

On the way, he made 17 calls from his cellular phone to friends and family, ending with a call just before noon to the emergency operator. It was a disjointed conversation, in which he threatened to kill himself. After that, he was never heard from again.

Since then, Kathy Kramer worked countless hours trying to find her brother. She has printed and mailed tens of thousands of posters to law enforcement agencies and mental hospitals around California. She has appeared on radio and television shows to broadcast information about the case. She and some of her brother's friends also have established a Web site on the Internet with information about the missing man.

``I've spent the last two years trying to keep my brother's picture and his name and his story out there,'' she said. ``For me, the search is therapeutic. It's positive.''

Taylor Kramer came as close as he would come to fame as bass player and singer for the 1960s band Iron Butterfly. He left the group in the late '70s and studied science - specializing in computers and communications technology.

At the time of his disappearance, he co-owned Total Multimedia, which worked at the forefront of fractal compression, the art of packing increasing amounts of data into software and transmitting it at higher and higher rates of speed.

Just before he disappeared, he told friends and relatives that he was on the verge of a breakthrough that would commit his name to the history books. But to many associates, it appeared that he was on the verge of a breakdown, not a breakthrough.

Kramer told confidants that he had discerned the 10th Principle of the ``Celestine Prophecy,'' a New Age best seller that promised insights that would guide readers to higher levels of consciousness.

Taylor's scientist father, Ray Kramer, acknowledges that his son was on edge.

``It could have been sleep deprivation, it could have been stress,'' Ray Kramer said. ``He definitely hadn't slept in a few days.''

Father and son had long dreamed of solving an equation that would allow them to transmit data at extremely high speeds. And they fantasized about breaking the speed of light just as test pilot Chuck Yeager had broken the sound barrier decades earlier.

``Imagine it,'' the elder Kramer said. ``The implications are far-reaching - from faster data transmission to deep-space communication and travel.''

That morning two years ago, Kramer used conventional methods to get where he needed to go. He drove his green Ford Aerostar van to Los Angeles International Airport to pick up friends, but they never connected.

Instead he parked in an airport lot for about 45 minutes, then headed north on the 101 Freeway. He called his wife, Jennifer, and his mother, and told them how much he loved them. He called other relatives and friends.

Then he made his last call to the emergency operator.

``911, can I help you?'' the operator answered.

``Yes, this is Philip Taylor Kramer.''

``Uh-huh. This is 911. Can I help you, sir?''

``Yes, you can. I am going to kill myself . . .''

``Hello? Hello?'' the operator pressed.

``And I want everyone to know, O.J. Simpson is innocent. They did it.''

After that the phone went dead. Kramer's family reporting him missing, and police opened an investigation. Local news outlets carried the story predominantly because of Kramer's rock-music connection.

But Kramer's van never was found, his cell phone never used again. Sheriff's deputies called off their active search within three months, but still consider the case open. Authorities have classified Kramer as ``endangered,'' the status given to missing persons who are considered a threat to themselves or others.

Kramer's father, a professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Youngstown State University in Ohio, has his own theories about his son's disappearance.

``He could have been abducted by a company interested in his breakthrough,'' Ray Kramer said. ``He could have suffered memory loss due to sleep deprivation.''

Sister Kathy Kramer continues to believe that her brother is still alive.

``I still believe it could be corporate or government abduction,'' she said. ``But I believe he was taken forcefully - against his will - or he's mentally ill.

``The brother I knew would not have made a willful exit. He would not have left his family behind,'' Kathy Kramer said.

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Photo: Philip Taylor Kramer's father, Ray, and sister, Kathy, have spent two years searching for the former rock 'n' roll musician.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News