Saturday will mark four years since a little girl vanished from a Cumberland County park, leaving her family and an entire community grasping for answers.
As local residents prepare to gather for a vigil this weekend marking the anniversary of Dulce Maria Alavez’s disappearance, a Florida team that recently joined the hunt for clues says it’s already working on a few leads and wants to speak with residents who may have information about the case.
Dulce was a bubbly 5-year-old who had just started kindergarten days earlier when her family went to Bridgeton City Park on the afternoon of Sept. 16, 2019.
She ran to a nearby playground with her 3-year-old brother, Manny, while their mom waited in the car. A short time later, when mother Noema Alavez Perez went looking for the kids, she found only Manny. Dulce was gone.
In an instant, the family outing turned into a nightmare.
Investigators believe someone took Dulce from the park, but answers about her fate remain elusive and a $75,000 reward sits unclaimed.
A vigil will be held Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Dulce’s tree, a spot dedicated to the missing child near the playground where she was last seen. The tree is routinely decorated with flowers, balloons and messages of hope for the now 9-year-old’s return.
To coincide with the four-year anniversary of her disappearance, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children plans to release a new age-progression rendering of how Dulce would appear now. The group normally releases updated age progressions every other year for missing children and the last one was released in 2021.
The Florida-based Anti-Predator Project joined the effort to find Dulce a few months ago after receiving a request from volunteers assisting the girl’s family.
The group’s co-founder and president, Trent Steele, described his organization as a licensed, non-profit private investigation firm. The group is already pursuing leads regarding Dulce’s case.
“We’ve got a few working theories,” he said. “There are several leads that we’re working. We’re in the middle of trying to put together some next steps on one of them.”
“Ultimately, we work for Dulce, so we play a lot of things very close to vest to protect the integrity of the investigation,” Steele added.
A crew from Downe Township Fire and Rescue searches the Cohansey River for 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez a day after she was reported missing from Bridgeton City Park in September 2019.
Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media
Dulce’s disappearance touched off an enormous search that radiated out from the park to include other states and Mexico. Her face appeared on billboards along highways and even in Times Square, on mailers sent out to millions of homes nationwide and on TV programs. In addition to the Bridgeton Police Department and Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, the FBI is actively investigating the case.
Authorities have not released any definitive evidence about what happened to Dulce, but all involved in her case vow to continue seeking answers.
Investigators from the Anti-Predator Project will be in Bridgeton Friday and Saturday and are available to meet with members of the public who may have information about Dulce, the group said.
Police are not involved in the Anti-Predator Project’s interviews and participants may remain anonymous if they wish, the group said. Information is available by calling 305-796-4859 or by emailing info@antipredatorproject.org.
Members of the Anti-Predator Project also plan to attend the vigil on Saturday.
Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae welcomed the additional attention the group could bring to the search for Dulce.
“We are aware that the Anti-Predator Project is getting involved. For obvious reasons, we must keep our efforts separate but appreciate any attention paid to this case,” she said.
Alavez Perez, Dulce’s mother, said she has heard no recent updates on the investigation. But, she’s hopeful the Anti-Predator Project can help in some way.
As they have in past years, the family plans to attend the program for Dulce on Saturday. Alavez Perez said the pain of Dulce’s absence hasn’t lessened.
“Things are still hard for me and my family,” she said Monday. “It’s been almost four years.”
Steele cautioned that his group’s work will take time.
“Things are coming together, but obviously, when you’ve got a case that’s this old with this many details, it’s a slow process,” he said. “This is not going to be something that’s done overnight, that’s done fast. It’s going to be a slow, methodical reconstruction of the last four years.”
As investigators have stressed in the past, Steele noted that Dulce’s disappearance doesn’t amount to a cold case after four years.
“It’s not a cold case. It’s far from a cold case,” he said. “There’s still a lot to be done.”
In the early weeks of the investigation in 2019, witness interviews produced two descriptions of what could be the same man seen in the area around the time Dulce vanished.
The first was a light-skinned Hispanic man, 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a thin build, no facial hair and facial acne. The second description, from a different witness, was of a Hispanic man, about 5 feet 7 inches tall, with a slender build and about 30 to 35 years old.
In October 2019, police released a sketch based on the second description.
Investigatorsreleased this image of someone they want to speak with in connection with the disappearance of 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez.
The following year, an FBI special agent suggested Dulce was likely taken by a stranger in a crime of opportunity, though others involved in the case have repeatedly stated all theories about what happened remain under consideration. FBI officials have declined to comment on the case since that time.
Brenda Trinidad, one of the volunteers supporting the family and organizing events, including Saturday’s vigil, is encouraged by the Anti-Predator Project joining the search for answers.
“Four years is a long time without seeing your loved one,” she said “The family still pleads for someone to come forward. I’m praying that with the Anti-Predator Project being involved it will shed more light into her disappearance.”
Trinidad is hopeful for a break in the case.
“I feel this time around we have gotten so much closer to finding the abductor than before,” she said. “He’s out there and will continue to be until someone turns him in.”
Anyone with information about Dulce’s disappearance 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.gov/tips.
Noema Alavez Perez, and her daughters Hope, 2, and Strella, 3, pose for a picture during a 9th birthday celebration for her daughter Dulce Maria Alavez in Bridgeton City Park, Sunday, April 23, 2023. The family and supporters have held birthday gatherings each year since Dulce disappeared.Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.