Body confirmed as that of missing IRS agent

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jan 16, 2008 | by Christine Morente

MILL VALLEY -- A body found on Mount Tamalpais over the weekend was formally identified Tuesday as that of former Daly City resident Veronica Ruiz, an Internal Revenue Service criminal investigator.

Results from the autopsy performed by the Marin County Coroner's Office, which handled the identification, showed that Ruiz died from a gunshot wound to the head, which may have been self-inflicted, according to the coroner's office.

The 25-year-old's service weapon was found at her side, along with her U.S. Treasury Department photo in her purse, according to the coroner.

The Mill Valley resident had been missing since Dec. 3. For weeks, even after an official search had been called off, her family organized massive search efforts on Mount Tamalpais, pleading for volunteers through thousands of fliers and on http:// www.helpfindveronicaruiz.com.

Family members could not be reached Tuesday.

More than 100 volunteers, including off-duty law enforcement and IRS agents, were out looking for her this past weekend.

But it was a Marin County Sheriff's Department search-and-rescue team, doing a training exercise, that found Ruiz's body Sunday near the Slide Gulch Ravine below the Hookooekoo trail on the southeast side of Mount Tamalpais. It is a remote and heavily wooded area.

The body was buried under leaves and shrubbery. said Sgt. Keith Boyd of the Marin County Sheriff's Office.

Ruiz's death may have occurred Dec. 3, the day she was reported missing, according to the coroner.

Ruiz was said to have been distraught over a break-up with her boyfriend.

Funeral arrangements are pending and will be announced later by the Ruiz family, according to the coroner's office.

Staff writer Christine Morente can be reached at 650-348-4333 or at cmorente@bayareanewsgroup.com.