A two-day search for a missing man in the Wesson area was calledoff Wednesday after dozens of law officers and numerous volunteerswere unable to find him, authorities said.

Copiah County Sheriff’s Department investigator Milton Twiner saidRicky Peden, 28, of 1066 Clopton Lane, went missing from his homesometime between 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and has not beenseen since.

Officers and close to 100 volunteers combed the area on foot,horseback and four-wheeler, aided by police dogs and an air search,but no traces of Peden have been discovered. The departmentcanceled the search Wednesday night

“If he’s in that area, we’ve walked all over him,” Twiner said. “Atthis point, there’s not a lot to go on. We’ve got him on (NationalCrime Information Center) as a missing person.”

Peden is listed at 6’1, 140 pounds, and was last seen wearing bluejeans with a white T-shirt and a pair of green New Balanceshoes.

Twiner said Peden had been ill with a stomach ailment for two weeksbefore he went missing and was just beginning to recover.

His wife, Virginia Peden, last saw him at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday whenshe left for work, and he was not home when a neighbor came tocheck in on him at 10:30 a.m. Officers feared Peden was weak anddehydrated and possibly mentally compromised because of hiscondition.

But Peden left his glasses, hat and other personal belongingsbehind, leaving the house with only his clothes and his wallet,Twiner said. He worked at a local chicken house and neverdrove.

“We don’t know for certain where he is, if he caught a ride orsomebody came and got him,” he said. “He was a person who was kindof introverted. He just kept to himself all the time.”

Stuart Givens, pastor of Sylvarena Baptist Church where Pedenattends, sent out a mass message to his congregation and manymembers participated in the search. Givens described Peden as a”quiet, reserved, bashful fellow.”

“As far as I knew him, he was a good guy, and that’s what’s gotthis so puzzling,” he said. “It doesn’t seem anything likehim.”