Jan 14, 2008 11:57 am US/Pacific
Body On Mt. Tam May Be Missing Mill Valley Woman
MILL VALLEY (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
Federal agents, friends and family of Veronica "Nikki" Ruiz were awaiting word as to whether a body found on Mount Tamalpais Sunday afternoon is that of the Mill Valley woman who has been missing more than a month.
The body was found near the popular Corte Madera hiking trail where authorities had been searching for the 25-year-old Internal Revenue Service investigator. She went missing Dec. 3, shortly after an emotional breakup with her boyfriend, and was last seen leaving for a hike on the mountain.
The body was discovered about 1:30 p.m. by a Marin County search and rescue team during a training exercise in a remote and heavily wooded area above Mill Valley's Slide Gulch Ravine. The location was several hundred feet off the hiking trail.
The Marin County Coroner's Office has assumed responsibility for the investigation until the body can be identified, as well as determining the cause of death.
"The body's been removed, taken into custody by Marin County's coroner officer. They will be conducting an autopsy during the next one to two days, and at that time we'll be able to provide you a cause of death and hopefully, a proper and formal identification as to who this person is," said sheriff's Lt. Doug Pittman.
According to the Web site of the family of Ruiz, the coroner's office on Monday had yet to identify the body but was checking dental records to see if they match those of Ruiz.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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