Dulce Maria Alavez

Case background and investigation

Dulce Maria Alavez, a 5-year-old girl born April 25, 2014, disappeared on the afternoon of September 16, 2019, from Bridgeton City Park in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, New Jersey. According to accounts reported by the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office and multiple news organizations, Dulce and her younger brother had gone to play near the playground and swings while their mother, Noema Alavez Perez, remained in a nearby vehicle with Dulce's younger sister. When the mother went to check on the children, Dulce's brother was found alone and Dulce was gone. She was last reported wearing a yellow shirt with an elephant design, black-and-white patterned pants, and white shoes.

Local, state, and federal authorities responded quickly. News outlets reported that more than 30 officers searched the park and surrounding wooded areas without finding her. No Amber Alert was issued in the immediate aftermath because, authorities said, the case did not initially meet the alert criteria, a point that later drew public criticism. The FBI joined the investigation alongside the New Jersey State Police and the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office, and Dulce was added to the FBI's list of kidnapping and missing-persons cases. Investigators came to describe the case as a suspected abduction.

About a month after the disappearance, on October 15, 2019, authorities released a composite sketch of a man described as a person of interest, characterized as a Hispanic male roughly 5 feet 7 inches tall, of slender build, approximately 30 to 35 years old, wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and a white baseball-style cap, according to reporting by 6abc Philadelphia and Time. Per Wikipedia's account, the reward for information had grown to roughly $52,000 by early October 2019 and was later raised to $75,000, the figure authorities continued to cite in subsequent years.

Investigators pursued numerous leads over the following years. According to reporting, tips prompted searches in locations outside New Jersey, including Austintown, Ohio, in February 2021. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released age-progression images depicting how Dulce might appear as she grew older. Authorities also urged anyone who had been at Bridgeton City Park on September 16, 2019, to submit photographs to help reconstruct the day, and emphasized that witnesses' immigration status would not be used against them.

Despite hundreds of tips over the years, no arrests have been made and no one has been charged in connection with Dulce's disappearance. The Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office has stated that no remains have been found. In 2024, investigators reported following up on 17 new tips originating from several states, including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Nevada, none of which located Dulce or a suspect. By 2025, the New Jersey State Police Special Investigations Section had reassigned investigators to review the accumulated evidence, and officials said they were employing artificial intelligence to generate updated images and identify what Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae described as 'missing puzzle pieces.'

As of the most recent reporting, the case remains open and unsolved. Dulce, who would be about 11 years old, has not been found. Authorities continue to seek the public's help and ask that anyone with information contact the FBI's toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). A reward of $75,000 remains available for information leading to her whereabouts. All investigative details above are attributed to statements from law enforcement and to reporting by the sources listed.