Persistent Search in Ocean County for Missing Rutgers Student

Persistent Search in Ocean County for Missing Rutgers Student

The last individual to have contact with the missing Rutgers University student, Morty Wortman, prior to his disappearance was present at the Ocean County Courthouse on Monday for a scheduled hearing.

In July, Adam Zalouk allegedly threatened Wortman with a knife, hit the back of Wortman's car, and vandalized it. He was supposed to go before a judge to answer to these accusations. Nevertheless, Judge Kenneth Palmer abruptly postponed the Toms River hearing.

After searching for Wortman in the Jackson Township woods for 17 days, Wortman's family was disappointed and wanted the last person seen with Wortman to be taken into custody.

The 22-year-old, whose family resides in Jackson, was last shown on camera late on November 21 getting into a car with Adam Zalouk in a parking lot. That parking lot is adjacent to a sizable wooded area and is a component of the Regional Day School. Speaking outside the courtroom, Wortman's brother, Ivan Marks, expressed his belief that Zalouk is involved in the disappearance.

"Definitely 100%. We all really believe that he was involved. An arrest is what our family desires. This is just another day that he is getting away with it, and we want him to be jailed," Marks stated.

Johanna Reyes, Wortman's mother, has been searching for her son in the woods every day.

On Saturday, the New Jersey State Police searched a 1,200-acre wooded area in Jackson, but they were unable to locate Wortman.

The investigation is being conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Zalouk left the Ocean County Courthouse without speaking to the Wortman family or the media.