Texas Student Went to the Movies, Then Vanished

Police in western Texas are asking for the public's help in finding Zuzu Verk, a 22-year-old university student who has been missing for more than a week—and is believed to be "endangered." Police in the city of Alpine say the reward for information leading to Verk's whereabouts or safe return has been upped to $30,000, reports the Dallas Morning News. CBS 7 reports they asked for anybody with "information about seeing a grey 2006 Jeep Liberty and a 2004 Mazda Miata convertible with a beige top being driven between the hours of midnight and 10:00am on Wednesday October 12" to come forward.

Verk, a Sul Ross State University student described as being white, 5 feet tall, 110 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes, hasn't been seen since last Tuesday night, when she went to the movies with a group of friends and her on-again/off-again boyfriend, police say. She had a midterm scheduled for Oct. 12 but didn't show up for it. WFAA reports that the boyfriend's residence has been searched, and police say he is one of several "persons of interest in the case." Says Capt. Darrell Losoya, "The residence of the boyfriend was Zuzu's last actual known location." Police—who've asked local landowners to check their properties for anything suspicious—say teams have searched more than 200 square miles of Brewster County on the ground and from the air. (More missing person stories.)