Disappearance of Dulce Maria Alavez

Dulce Maria Alavez
Dulce Maria Alavez's FBI missing poster
Born(2014-04-25)April 25, 2014
Bridgeton, New Jersey, U.S.
DisappearedSeptember 16, 2019(2019-09-16) (aged 5)
Bridgeton City Park, Bridgeton, New Jersey, U.S.
StatusMissing for 6 years, 6 months and 4 days
ParentNoema Alavez Perez

Dulce Maria Alavez (born April 25, 2014 – disappeared September 16, 2019)[1] is an American girl who vanished near Bridgeton City Park in Bridgeton, New Jersey, and is believed to have been abducted.[2] A reward has been offered for finding Alavez.[3][4][5]

Disappearance

On September 16, 2019, 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez and her brother were playing on the swings, while Alavez's pregnant mother was in her car, 30 yards away. She was playing a scratch-off lottery ticket and helping her younger sister with her homework.[6] It was around 4 pm to 6 pm (ET) when Alavez suddenly vanished from the playground. Alavez's mother went to see where her children were and found Alavez’s brother by himself crying at the swings.

Search and aftermath

Over 30 police officers were part of a search party who looked in the nearby woods, but found nothing. The suspect is described as a light-skinned Hispanic male around 5'8 tall driving a red van.[7] Police have no strong suspects as of June 15, 2023.[8]

Dr. Phil and In Pursuit with John Walsh carried segments about the disappearance.[8]

In February 2021, following leads, a search for Alavez was conducted in Austintown, Ohio.[9][10][11]

In 2020 a false claim that Alavez had been located deceased was spread on social media.[12] In 2021, along with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children releasing two age-progression images of Alavez as a seven-year-old, FBI special agent Daniel Garrabrant said, "The offender that took Dulce was likely there for a period of time. It was a crime of opportunity. They were looking for a child, maybe their age or gender."[13]

Investigators have used artificial intelligence to create images of Alavez as she would appear as she grew older.[14][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "DULCE MARIA ALAVEZ". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  2. ^ Goldbaum, Christina (October 1, 2019). "A 5-Year-Old Girl Went Missing From a Playground. What Happened?". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  3. ^ "Community holds out hope for Dulce Maria Alavez who has been missing for months". ABC News. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  4. ^ "Reward for finding Dulce increases to $52,000, what you need to know about the case". Press of Atlantic City. October 9, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  5. ^ https://www.nj.com/cumberland/2025/09/where-is-dulce-maria-alavez-cops-now-using-ai-to-solve-one-of-njs-biggest-mysteries.html
  6. ^ Alexander, Dan (September 30, 2019). "Mom: I was scratching lottery tix when girl went missing; don't judge us". New Jersey 101.5. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  7. ^ "Police Release Sketch of Possible Witness in Dulce Maria Alavez Disappearance". Time. October 17, 2019.
  8. ^ a b NJ.com, Matt Gray | For (February 5, 2020). "Case of missing 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez will be on another national TV show". nj. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  9. ^ "New Jersey 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez has been missing for 6 months". PIX11. March 15, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  10. ^ NJ.com, Alex Napoliello | NJ Advance Media for; NJ.com, Matt Gray | For (March 1, 2020). "Search for missing 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez extends to Ohio, police say". nj. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  11. ^ NJ.com, Matt Gray | For (March 4, 2020). "Ohio ice cream shop was recipient of 3rd letter about missing N.J. 5-year-old Dulce Alavez". nj. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  12. ^ Gray, Matt (October 21, 2020). "Investigators denounce false claim that missing N.J. girl Dulce Maria Alavez was found dead". NJ.com. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  13. ^ Chang, David (September 17, 2021). "Officials Release 2 Age-Progressed Photos of Dulce María Alavez". WNBC-TV. NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  14. ^ https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/dulce-maria-alavez-new-jersey-disappearance-2025/
  15. ^ https://www.nj.com/cumberland/2025/09/where-is-dulce-maria-alavez-cops-now-using-ai-to-solve-one-of-njs-biggest-mysteries.html
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