Human remains found in a shallow grave may be of Texas student, 22, who went missing in October after going on a date with her boyfriend 

  • Zuzu Renee Verk, a student at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, was reported missing by her parents on October 12
  • They say the 22-year-old went on a date to the movies October 11 and missed classes and work the next day 
  • Police say that Fabian is a person of interest in Verk's disappearance

By Jordan Gass-Poore for Dailymail.com

Published: 17:06 EST, 3 February 2017 | Updated: 17:39 EST, 3 February 2017

Human remains were found Friday morning in West Texas near where 22-year-old college student Zuzu Renee Verk went missing four months ago.

A US Border Patrol agent found unidentified remains in a shallow grave off Wagon Road in the Sunny Glen area northwest of Alpine, the town where Verk was last seen in October, The Dallas Morning-News reports.

The skeletal remains are being sent to the medical examiner's office for identification.

Verk's family has been notified, although police are not sure if the remains belong to her.

Human remains found in a shallow grave in West Texas on Friday morning may be 22-year-old Sul Ross State University student Zuzu Renee Verk (above) who disappeared in October

The Brewster County Sheriff's Office said the results may come back next week. 

No arrests have been made, but police said Verk's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Robert Fabian, is their primary suspect. 

Verk was reported missing by Fabian on October 14, who told police he had last seen her on a date two days prior. 

He has since refused to answer questions about the last time Verk was seen, and he and a friend, Chris Estrada, were acting strange in the days following her disappearance. 

Verk left her parents' home on October 11 to go on a date to the movies later that evening. Her parents reported her missing after she missed classes and work the next day 

'Unfortunately we have one individual who has refused to come in and talk to us, he has retained an attorney,' said a police spokesman at an October press conference. 

'This individual happens to know her better than anyone else. Investigators are waiting to talk to him.'

John Franco, who lives in the apartment directly below Fabian, told WFAA that he could hear arguing and pacing the night Verk disappeared.

Search warrants found that Fabian called Estrada twice during the early morning of October 12 and later borrowed a Ford F-150 pickup for an unknown reason. 

Verk, a student at Sul Ross State University (file above) in Alpine, was last heard from during the early morning hours of October 12, Alpine Police say

Estrada tried to get his Ford Mustang cleaned three times at a local auto shop in the days following Verk's disappearance.   

Both men testified in front of a grand jury in January but no indictments have been handed down.  

Verk, who is originally from the Fort Worth area, was a student at Sul Ross State University in Alpine.

Her father, Glenn Verk, said she was absent from school, where she is studying conservation biology, and also missed work later that day.  

The Alpine Police Department is looking for two vehicles possibly related to her disappearance: a grey 2006 Jeep Liberty (left) and a 2004 Mazda Miata (right) convertible with a beige colored top

'We're all special but there's something exceptional about this young woman. She's vibrant and she's full of excitement and life,' Glenn Verk told CBS11.

'I'm just very proud of her and I want to see her again,' her father said while choking back tears.

Zuzu Verk left her parents' home in Keller to go on a date to the movies back in Alpine with Fabian on the night of October 11, Fox News reported.

In addition, Verk had planned to go on a camping trip with friends that Friday.

Verk's family is still hoping for her safe return and is asking anyone who may have information to call police. 

'The community has reached out to an amazing degree putting together huge search parties,' her father said.

Verk's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Robert Fabian, is the primary suspect in her disappearance. He has refused to answer questions about the last time he saw her

Fabian and his friend, Chris Estrada (above), were acting strange in the days following Verk's disappearance. Both men testified in front of a grand jury in January but no indictments have been handed down

'If they have any connection to anything that might've happened her in Alpine, the smallest inclining of a suspicion. Nothing is being overlooked.' 

The Alpine Police Department is looking for two vehicles possibly related to her disappearance: a grey 2006 Jeep Liberty and a 2004 Mazda Miata convertible with a beige colored top.

Both of those vehicles were spotted in the area between 12am and 10am on October 12, police said. 

Verk is described as 5 feet tall, weighing 110 pounds with blonde hair and hazel eyes. 

The reward for her return reached $200,000 in October as authorities continued to search nearby counties and the US-Mexico border near the Big Bend state and national parks.      

Anyone with information is urged to call the Alpine Police Department at 432-837-3486. 

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