Morty Wortman, a 22-year-old Rutgers University senior, last seen on November 21, 2025, remains missing as Wortman’s family demands that police arrest the last person known to have been with him, Adam Zalouk.
Wortman’s relatives say surveillance footage shows him getting into a car with Zalouk in a Jackson Township parking lot the night he vanished. According to Wortman’s family, Zalouk also previously threatened Wortman with a knife, and police arrested him after an incident in July 2025 that allegedly included vandalism and ramming the back of Wortman’s car.
Earlier reports stated that someone else may have driven the car, but it’s now confirmed that Zalouk was the only person with Wortman when he vanished.
Zalouk faces charges for the earlier alleged stalking incidents and had a court date in mid-December 2025, but reports say the date was rescheduled without explanation, with no new date announced.
New Jersey law enforcement agencies have confirmed the case is active but have not publicly named Zalouk as a suspect. At this time, police have not charged anyone in connection with Wortman’s disappearance.
The night Wortman vanished
Around 10:30 p.m. on November 21, surveillance footage captured Wortman entering a car with Zalouk at the parking lot of the Regional Day School in Jackson Township, New Jersey.
After Wortman failed to return home, Zalouk reportedly contacted police the next day to report him missing. However, Zalouk has not otherwise cooperated with the police, according to News 12 New Jersey.
Wortman’s own car was found abandoned in that same parking lot where surveillance footage showed him driving off with Zalouk, close to the entrance of the dense 12,000-acre Collier Mills Wildlife Management Area near Jackson Township, where authorities have primarily searched since Wortman vanished.
Wortman has since been officially classified as “missing and endangered,” prompting multi-agency searches involving police, state investigators, K-9 teams, drones, and volunteers.
Family members, friends, and volunteers have conducted daily searches while Rutgers University has cooperated with investigators and urged anyone with information to come forward.
The Wortman GoFundMe
A GoFundMe created to support search efforts has raised significant community donations as volunteers continue to distribute flyers and organize walking search parties. His family stresses Wortman would not voluntarily disappear, and they remain hopeful as searches continue.
At the time he vanished, Wortman was wearing a black T-shirt, a burgundy hoodie, and blue jeans. He is described as about 5′10″ and 200 lbs, with dark brown hair and brown eyes, a nose piercing, and multiple earrings.
Anyone with information about Wortman’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Jackson Police Department or the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Published: Dec 10, 2025 03:58 pm