The family of a Bridgeton girl missing for nearly 2 1/2 years hopes 2022 will offer a fresh start in the search for the child.
Dulce Maria Alavez was 5 years old when she disappeared from Bridgeton City Park during a family outing on Sept. 16, 2019. She was last seen near a playground.
An unclaimed reward for information in the case stands at $75,000 and investigators say they continue to treat the search for Dulce as a top priority.
“New year, new hopes, new beginnings is what the family is seeking this year,” said Brenda Trinidad, one of the volunteers assisting the family in spreading the word about the case. “It’s like cleaning the slate. They want this whole year to just be focused on new findings to locate Dulce.
“The family pleads with anyone to please come forward. It’s time to bring Dulce home.”
Dulce’s mother, Noema Alavez Perez, said she met last month with an FBI agent who is new to the case.
“He just told me that he was a new agent … that they needed new agents so they could look at the case (with) fresh eyes,” Alavez Perez said. “He told me that they were not going to stop looking and that they were going to have more people with them.”
The FBI and local investigators declined to talk about the ongoing investigation and any new federal involvement in the search.
FBI special agent Daniel Garrabrant stated in 2020 that Dulce was likely taken by someone in a crime of opportunity, but officials have stressed since then that all theories of what might have happened remain under consideration.
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In the early days of the investigation, two possible suspect descriptions emerged of what authorities believe is the same person — a Hispanic man about 5 feet 8 inches tall and about 30 to 35 years old, with acne.
Investigators say they believe Dulce is still alive, noting they have found no evidence to prove otherwise.
Dulce’s family also hopes groups that specialize in searching for the missing can come in to assist, possibly searching a larger area of the sprawling city park, which covers 1,100 acres. In the days following Dulce’s disappearance, searchers scoured a wide swath of the park for clues and studied surveillance camera footage of vehicles in the area at the time. From there, the search extended out to neighboring communities.
“The family has really been wanting to bring in the Texas EquuSearch,” Trinidad said. “Unfortunately, those people can only come out if the police give them permission.”
An outside group could make a difference in turning over a missed lead, she said.
“What they’re trying to see is if maybe something was left behind. It’s OK to go back and look over things. People miss a lot of things,” Trinidad said. “They want organizations to be able to come out and at least assist in the search. I think, as a family, they are entitled to that.”
Any groups that want to assist are encouraged to contact Trinidad and other volunteers via the group’s Facebook page. Information received is shared with Dulce’s family, Trinidad noted.
For investigators, taking a fresh look at old clues is a part of longterm missing persons cases, explained John Bischoff, vice president of the missing children division at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
“Usually with these types of cases, from an investigative standpoint, you’re constantly reevaluating where you are. Looking at old leads, looking at new information that comes in and working with the community to drive for new information,” Bischoff said.
He urged community members monitoring the case to steer clear of the social media rumor mill and look to law enforcement for reliable information. What the public can do, he said, is ensure Dulce is not forgotten.
“Keeping cases in the news is always a struggle,” he said. “We know someone knows something. A young lady just doesn’t disappear from a playground. It’s getting her image and the word that she’s still missing in front of the right set up eyes.”
Dulce’s mother asked that people continue sharing her daughter’s photo and to not give up on her.
In the meantime, the family and supporters are planning more awareness events in the new year, she said, including a birthday celebration for Dulce in April, when she will turn 8. This follows a silent walk held on the second anniversary of her disappearance and a Christmas observance last month at the park.
“The whole point is to still keep celebrating her and allow people to see that she is still missing,” Trinidad said.
Anyone with information about Dulce is asked to contact authorities via one of these options:
- Bridgeton Police: 856-451-0033
- Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office: 856-453-0486
- New Jersey State Police: 609-882-2000, ext. 2554
- FBI: 1-800-CALL-FBI. Select option 4, then option 8.
- Anonymous tips may be sent to Bridgeton Police at bpdops.com/tips or to the prosecutor’s office at njccpo.org/tips.
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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.