JACKSON — Authorities are continuing an intensive search for a 22-year-old township man who disappeared nearly three weeks ago after he was last seen in a wooded section of the Collier Mills Wildlife Management Area.
Mortimer “Morty” Wortman was reported missing on November 21. Police said he was last seen around 10:30 p.m. near the High Bridge Road entrance to the preserve and is considered missing and endangered.
Wortman is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, about 200 pounds, with light skin, dark brown hair and eyes. He has a nose piercing and several earrings in each ear. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, a burgundy sweatshirt and blue jeans.
Jackson Police Chief Matthew D. Kunz said township officers are working jointly with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office as the investigation continues.
“The matter remains under investigation, using every available investigative tool at our collective disposal,” Kunz said.
Police have repeatedly searched the wooded preserve, and officers were again canvassing the area in recent days. A large law enforcement presence returned to Collier Mills on December 6 as the search expanded. Multiple agencies, including the New Jersey State Police, Jackson Police Department and Manchester Police Department, assisted the prosecutor’s office, which is leading the investigation. The nature preserve spans more than 12,000 acres.
Wortman, a college senior who commuted to campus, was last seen on surveillance footage getting into a car with a friend at the Regional Day School in Jackson the night he disappeared, according to his brother, Ivan Marks. Wortman’s car was later found in the school’s parking lot. Marks said the friend seen in the video has not cooperated in the search for his brother.
Family and friends describe Wortman as a kind and distinctive young man who is deeply loved. A GoFundMe created by his brother to support search efforts and potentially hire a private investigator has raised more than $19,000.
Anyone with information about Wortman’s disappearance is asked to call the Jackson Township Police Department at 732-928-1111 and press 0 to reach the on-duty dispatcher.
