MILL VALLEY -- The search for missing 25-year-old Mill Valley resident Veronica Ruiz is now a recovery effort, a family spokesperson said Monday.

Ruiz has been missing since leaving on Dec. 3 for a hike on Mt. Tamalpais.

Tough weather and terrain on the mountain and the length of time Ruiz has been gone have led the family to believe she is dead, said Jeff Baker, a psychic who has helped the family and a fleet of volunteers search for her.

An estimated 150 volunteers conducted searches the first weekend after Ruiz went missing, and there were 50 searching Sunday, Baker said.

Monday, only three men including Baker were searching the mountain. Cold weather, rain and the work week have turned away volunteers, Baker said.

The psychic says Ruiz has told him she is dead. Baker said he speaks with Ruiz during meditation and prayer sessions with the family. He said he "has feelings" on how she died, but Ruiz's family has asked him not to reveal the details of his conversations with her.

His psychic talks with her have led searchers to try to cover northern parts of the mountain in the Alpine Lake and Bon Tempe Lake areas, which are difficult to search, Baker said.

"The biggest problem is that there aren't enough people out there searching," Baker said. "(Police) called off the search in my opinion really, really early."

Ruiz was reported missing at 10 p.m. on Dec. 3, a few days after breaking up with her live-in boyfriend, Robert Voight.

Before her disappearance, Ruiz was employed by the Internal Revenue Service as a special agent, a job that allowed her to carry a gun, police reported.

The Mill Valley Police Department's official search and rescue effort was suspended two days after Ruiz was reported missing. Police said the search would continue pending new leads.

Family, friends and volunteers have taken control of the search, asking for donations of time, money and supplies.

Search coordinators are trying to gather several hundred volunteers this coming weekend as a push to find Ruiz's body before Christmas Day, Baker said.

"I think that we will find her and it will be quicker than you think," Baker said.

Information about volunteering, donating time and money can be found online at www.helpfindveronicaruiz.com.

Volunteers can also contact Maricris Ruiz, the sister of the missing woman, by phone at (650) 222-9578 or email at findveronicaruiz@gmail.com.