Search for missing North Texas college student continues
Search warrants obtained by FOX4 detail the last time a missing North Texas woman's cell phone was used before she disappeared in the far West Texas town of Alpine.
The documents also explain the actions police believe the suspect, her boyfriend, took after she vanished and why one of his friends is a person of interest.
Zuzu Verk from Keller who goes to school in far West Texas hasn’t been seen in almost two weeks. The 22-year-old’s family remains hopeful. They are spending time in North Texas but also keeping close tabs on the search effort and investigation in Alpine.
The suspect in the case is Zuzu’s boyfriend of six months, Robert Fabian. According to authorities, he has not cooperated. Search warrant affidavits indicate Fabian reported her missing on October 14 and told police the last time he spoke to her was on October 12.
According to the affidavit, "Zuzu's cell phone had not indicated service since Wednesday morning at about 6:30 a.m." Zuzu’s family said she was on a date the night before she disappeared.
Investigators have said Fabian is the prime suspect. His mother, sister, and a friend have all been named as persons of interest. Detectives say Fabian is still in Alpine.
Zuzu’s parents remain optimistic about finding their daughter.
“I want her to see the amount of effort, everything that came into looking for her, trying to find her safe, all the prayer vigils and everything just because she’s so special,” said her mom, Lori Verk. “Everyone cares for her. And I can’t wait to show her that stuff.”
"It's been an emotional roller coaster because you have this outpouring of love and hope. You have all these fears that you deal with. It's been an interesting collection of emotions for us,” explained Zuzu’s father, Glen Verk.
And knowing that possible answers to her whereabouts are being withheld is one of the hardest things the Verks have to deal with.
“Someone, no matter who you're pointing the finger at this moment, you know someone knows the truth, and that's all we need. That's all we need,” Lori said.
The search for Zuzu remains intense and focused and has now covered roughly 500 square miles. Investigators say search teams continue to comb areas in Alpine and Brewster County. There are also drones being used for aerial searching.
Investigators were pursuing items belonging to Fabian including a laptop computer which they believed would reveal he deleted items that would incriminate him, according to search warrants.
The Verks say they will return to Alpine very soon. They are in constant communication with investigators who continue follow up and look for new leads and continue looking through security camera footage in hopes of finding some crucial image or video that leads them to Zuzu Verk.