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Berkeley Cyclist Missing Since Saturday

BERKELEY (CBS SF) -- Family and friends of a Berkeley physicist who went missing after a bike ride over the weekend are asking for the public's help in locating him.

Anthony Michael Martin, 29, might have been riding in the hills of Berkeley or Oakland when he went missing, his girlfriend, Amaya James, said.

Another cyclist found his phone on Saturday on Tunnel Road in Berkeley.

Martin is a former professional cyclist but might have been malnourished and fatigued over the weekend, James said. He was experimenting with fasting and might have struggled on the steep terrain.

James and her parents have been searching the hills for him since Saturday night, when Martin was scheduled to meet her but never did.

Berkeley police were meeting Tuesday afternoon to decide how to respond to his disappearance, James said.

Police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said that one of the challenges in searching for Martin is that he, as an accomplished cyclist, could have taken any number of routes, as Tunnel Road is a popular way to access many rides, some of which share the road with vehicles.

Kusmiss said that Berkeley police officers performed a welfare check of Martin's apartment and confirmed that he was not home. Officers and investigators completed tasks Tuesday in an effort to locate Martin, but are asking for the public's help.

Martin was most likely riding a fluorescent green and white road bike and wearing a gray and blue helmet, white cycling shoes, regular street clothes and possibly a blue Mountain Hardware backpack.

Anyone with information about Martin is asked to call the Berkeley Police Department at (510) 981-5900.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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