National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, provided Selena Vazquez
BRIDGETON -- Five years ago still feels like yesterday for Noema Alavez Perez.
She was in City Park Sept. 16, 2019, when her then 3-year-old son, Manny, ran to the car to say he couldn't find his sister, Dulce Maria Alavez, who was 5 at the time, while they were playing.
"These last five years happened so fast. It still feels like it just happened," Perez said Friday. "It's still hard for our family because we don't know where she is, or what happened."
Perez, who was 19 at the time and about four months pregnant with her third child, was tending to an 8-year-old relative at 4:20 p.m. Sept. 16 when her son ran to her and pointed at the playground area where he and Dulce were playing, about 200 feet away.
Perez searched the area but couldn't find her daughter, so she notified authorities, who started searching the park.
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Dulce was wearing a yellow shirt with an elephant on it, black and white pants, and white shoes. She was approximately three feet tall, had brown hair and eyes, and weighed 60-70 pounds.
State Police issued an Amber Alert for Alavez the day after her disappearance, suggesting she may have been abducted by a Hispanic male between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8.
The male was described as having a thin build, no facial hair and acne. He also was wearing orange sneakers, red pants and a black shirt.
5 years after her disappearance, social media groups are still searching for Dulce Maria Alavez
Five years after the disappearance of then 5-year-old Bridgeton resident Dulce Maria Alavez, several social media groups are still doing what they can to search for the missing child.
Police said the man allegedly lured Dulce from the playground to a red van with a sliding door and tinted windows about 4:20 p.m. Sept. 16.
Over the years, multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have followed multiple leads searching for Dulce. The Bridgeton Police Department and the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office released a joint statement Friday saying they were still looking for her.
Forensic artists with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children release an updated age-progression photo annually of what Dulce may look like now.
Trent Steele with the Anti-Predator Project, a nonprofit private investigative firm, is also working alongside authorities to help find her.
"They help spread awareness that my daughter is still out there, so we can be reunited," Perez said.
Family, friends and other members of the public are invited to gather at "Dulce's tree" at 4 p.m. Monday to mark the fifth anniversary of Dulce's disappearance.
Perez asked that the public wear yellow, since it was the color of her daughter's shirt the day she went missing.
She asked that people attend the event Monday, despite it being Mexico's Independence Day, which is a major holiday for many residents in the area.
"I want people to know that it's not only the day of independence for Latinos in Mexico where a lot of people celebrate," Perez said. "But it's also the day that a young Mexican girl disappeared. We're still looking and trying to spread awareness."
Contact Selena Vazquez:
609-272-7225
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