Dozens of searchers are scouring the muddy eastern slope of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County for a hiker who has been missing since for two days.

Twenty-five-year-old Veronica Ruiz didn't report for work Monday at the San Rafael office of the Internal Revenue Service where she is a criminal tax investigator.

Search crews on foot and horseback set off in search of Ruiz early Wednesday. She had told friends she was going for a hike on the mountain.

IRS Special Agent Scott O'Briant say Ruiz recently became despondent over a breakup with her boyfriend.

Agents searched the Mill Valley apartment where the couple lived and recovered the keys to her department vehicle. But they were unable to locate her handgun, which she was authorized to carry during the course of her duties.

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Information from: Marin Independent Journal, http://www.marinij.com