Body of Missing IRS Agent Recovered
The Calif. woman who vanished Dec. 3 died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Jan. 16, 2008 — -- The body of a woman found in a wilderness area near San Francisco, Sunday, has been identified as Veronica "Nikki" Ruiz, a 25-year-old IRS agent reported missing in early December.
She died from a single, self-inflicted gunshot to the head, California authorities confirmed to ABC News.
Ruiz's body was discovered Sunday afternoon during a Marin County Search and Rescue Team training exercise on Mount Tamalpias, a popular area near Ruiz's house where she had been known to run. The Marin County Coroner's Office confirmed the identity late Tuesday using dental records provided by the Ruiz family. A preliminary autopsy found that the woman likely died Dec. 3, the day she disappeared.
Her IRS-issue gun was found by her side, police say, as was her government identification — two items that police in Mill Valley, Calif., reported as missing when she disappeared.
"The body was located in an area heavily concealed by shrubbery about 40 yards from the trail line," said Sgt. Keith Boyd, a spokesman for the Marin County Sheriff's Office. "The individuals on the scene initially characterized it as a suspicious death."
On a missing-person Web site set up by Ruiz's family, relatives posted messages of thanks to numerous individuals, businesses and agencies that stuck with the search over the last month and a half.
"The family and friends of Veronica Ruiz would wholeheartedly like to thank all our volunteers for all their efforts in the search," the family wrote. "Your prayers, awareness created, supplies and monetary donations have contributed to bringing resolution to our family."
The Mill Valley Police Department oversaw a two-day search in December, which included officials from sheriff's office, park rangers, the FBI, IRS and tracking dogs. The official search was suspended because authorities failed to find any evidence of foul play.
"We're not talking about a kidnap victim or anything like that," Dean Loutas, a Mill Valley detective, told ABC News in December.
Despite the end of the official search, the Ruiz family forged ahead, organizing volunteers and raising money to fund the creation of the Web site Help Find Veronica Ruiz.
Friday, the family announced on the Web site "that up to 400 search-and-rescue personnel would be combing Mount Tamalpias as part of a training exercise." Her body was recovered around 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
