Family and friends gathered at Bridgeton City Park on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the 10th birthday of a girl who was last seen near the playground when she was 5 years old.
Dulce Maria Alavez was on a family outing on Sept. 16, 2019, when her mother called 911 to report that her daughter had gone missing while playing at the park.
A massive search ensued, an Amber Alert was issued the following day and the quest for answers about Dulce’s fate took investigators across the country.
Despite all of those efforts, Dulce’s birthday was again marked by the painful absence of the little girl whose face has appeared on flyers, billboards, social media, news stories and TV programs over the last 4 1/2 years.
“Our purpose is to keep her name out in the public eye,” Brenda Trinidad said recently of the annual birthday gathering. Trinidad helps organize public awareness events for Dulce and her family and said birthdays are always a difficult time for the child’s loved ones.
Because Dulce was a big fan of Disney princesses, the theme for this year’s birthday was Disney’s “Tangled.”
Attendees gathered around a tree dedicated in Dulce’s honor to offer birthday wishes and prayers for her return.
Soon after the girl’s disappearance, police released witness descriptions and a sketch of a person of interest. An unclaimed reward for information about the case stands at $75,000.
In addition to the ongoing law enforcement investigation, aFlorida-based non-profit investigation group called the Anti-Predator Project joined the search last year at the request of supporters helping Dulce’s family.
Last year, officials released a new age-progression image of how Dulce may appear today.
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
- Anonymous tips may be sent to Bridgeton Police at bpdops.com/tips or to the prosecutor’s office at njccpo.gov/tips.
- Information may also be submitted to the Anti-Predator Project, by calling 305-796-4859 or emailing info@antipredatorproject.org.
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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
