Human remains were found outside Alpine, Texas, as the search continues for a 22-year-old college student who has been missing since October.
Zuzu Verk, a conservation biology student at Sul Ross State University, was reported missing on October 14, 2016, by her boyfriend Robert Fabian. According to NBC Dallas Fort Worth, Fabian has been uncooperative with police since being named a suspect. He is believed to be the last person to have seen Verk alive, as neighbors heard her at his apartment the night of October 11. Verk, known to be a conscientious student, did not report for a mid-term exam the next day.
“You could hear him moving their stuff around, playing music, and then she [Zuzu] shows up … they make dinner like at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m., you could smell their food, and you can hear their conversation and then laugh a little bit,” a neighbor told KWES News. “Then, it got quiet like after 11 p.m.” But sometime later, the neighbor and his girlfriend heard cursing at the apartment – and then a loud thump. When the neighbor went to Fabian’s apartment to check on the situation, Verk was nowhere to be seen — but her car was still parked outside. According to the Washington Post, police found her car parked outside Verk’s own apartment the next day, and her dog was in the yard.
“She was not the type of person to leave without telling people or to leave her dog behind,” Zuzu’s mother Lori Verk told the Washington Post. “We believe her car was moved in front of her home.”
Alpine police told NBC Dallas Forth Worth that skeletal remains were found in a shallow grave northwest of Alpine. The remains have reportedly been sent to the University of North Texas for evaluation and identification.
Anyone with information about Verk’s disappearance is urged to contact the Alpine Police Department at (432) 837-3486.
