Jackson Family Calls For Arrest Of Man Who Reported Rutgers Student Missing

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

The last person to see 22-year-old Rutgers University student Mortimer Wortman before he vanished was also the one who reported him missing, the college student’s family said.

That man, Adam Zalouk, contacted police on Friday, Nov. 21 or Saturday, Nov. 22, while facing criminal charges from an earlier knife-related incident involving Wortman in Point Pleasant, relatives said.

Wortman’s older brother, Ivan Marks of Newark, told Daily Voice that the family did not know Mortimer was missing until police arrived at their home in Jackson to begin a search on Saturday, Nov. 22. 

Surveillance footage shows Wortman getting into a car with Zalouk on Friday night, leaving his own vehicle behind at Regional Day School, Marks said.

Based on that information, the family spent days searching the area before becoming convinced Wortman may no longer be there. And they say Zalouk has been far from helpful in locating Wortman.

"It was very ironic that Adam was the person last seen with my brother, and he has all this insight as to where my little brother was and where he was last seen," Marks said. "My family has spent since Nov. 21 or 22, all throughout the woods, as per Adam's words on where they were. Now we're almost convinced that my little brother isn’t in the woods."

Mortimer Wortman 

Mortimer Wortman Instagram

Daily Voice has reached out to Zalouk's attorney for comment.

Marks said Wortman and Zalouk met on an app, though the family did not know which one. They did not learn of Zalouk’s existence until a confrontation in Point Pleasant on July 26, when Zalouk was charged after allegedly chasing Wortman with a knife and damaging his car. Court records show Zalouk, 33, faces charges in that case including failure to report an accident, leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage, and terroristic threats – threaten imminent death or fear of death.

According to NJ Advance Media, who obtained the criminal complaint,  Zalouk asked Wortman for a sexual favor and became "irate" when Wortman refused. That's when he threatened him with a knife by lunging at him with the blade extended then carved the word "slut" into his car. Finally, he rammed the back of his car with another vehicle twice, the outlet states citing charging documents. It was allegedly all recorded on video.

The July case was picked up by the prosecutor’s office, and a judge ordered Zalouk to have no contact with Wortman, according to the family. Marks said the family is troubled that Zalouk was still with Mortimer shortly before he went missing and is now calling for his arrest. They believe he either had a role in the disappearance or has information that could help locate Wortman.

Wortman had a broken phone and had been using an iPad to communicate, Marks said. They said he was reliable, close with family, and not someone who would voluntarily vanish or cut off contact.

Wortman, of Jackson, was last seen at 10:30 p.m. in the woods near High Bridge Road, police said. He is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, 200 pounds, and was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, burgundy hoodie, and blue jeans. More than $20,000 had been raised as of Thursday, Dec. 11, to support search efforts through a GoFundMe campaign.