Image via CBS News

Another year has passed since the disappearance of Dulce Maria Alavez. Dulce, a young girl who is believed to have been abducted in the afternoon of September 16th, 2019, has now been missing for 4 years. Dulce was last seen playing with her younger brother at Bridgeton City Park in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Dulce’s mother, Noema Alavez Perez, remained sitting in the car just 30 yards away, scratching a lottery ticket, helping her younger sister with her homework, when her 5-year-old daughter disappeared. 

Dulce’s mother noticed something was wrong and went to check on her kids but found only her son, Manuel, by himself crying at the swingsets. The then 3-year-old did not know how to tell his mother what had happened to his sister. They then called the police at around 5 p.m. after being at the park for under an hour. An investigation began for the search of 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez. Hundreds of police officers had gotten involved, including specialists trained in search and rescue. They had drained a nearby waterway and had drones scan the surrounding area where the disappearance had taken place. Perez, pregnant at the time, now has Estrella who is 2 years old, and Hope, who is a 1 year old. This year, April 25th would have marked Dulce’s 9th birthday. Dulce Maria Alavez’s family comes together every year to remember the girl and remind the public once again, that the case of Dulce’s disappearance is still ongoing. 

In an interview with Perez, she stated “I have all of Dulce’s dresses in safekeeping. We have not gotten rid of any of her clothes. We haven’t given it away. Her dresses, her shoes, all of it. Her toys too.” Dulce’s mother was very distraught by her daughter’s disappearance, as one would be, and has ensured that if Dulce is to return everything remains exactly as it did the day she disappeared. Her room has been left the same and as stated by the NJ.com article, “Where is Dulce Alavez?”, even her school bag has been left the same, all the contents untouched  “And there’s her backpack… that sits exactly where the 5-year old left it when she returned home from kindergarten, the folders and papers she last touched still inside.” Dulce’s family continues to live in the same home they had before her disappearance, not wanting to disturb any of Dulce’s possessions or memories that remain at the house. “We don’t let anyone touch her things. They’re there for her,” said Dulce’s mother. 

No arrests have been made regarding this case. The state police and FBI decided to expand their investigation further past the perimeters of the park to perform interviews and investigations, including registered sex offenders in the surrounding region. The police have gotten many leads but none of them have led to discovering where Alavez is. According to Wikipedia, “In 2020 a false claim that Alavez had been located deceased was spread on social media.” The public is still unsure of what happened to Dulce Maria Alavez. Not much information has been released to the press, but her family is still holding out hope that she will return home safe and unharmed.