Dulce Maria Alvarez: Missing for Six Years

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In Bridgeton City Park two children were playing on the swing set and eating ice cream. On September 16, 2019, this brother and sister were enjoying the beginning winds of fall as they ran around the playground that sat behind Bridgeton High School in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The five-year-old, Dulce Maria Alvarez was playing with her younger brother, who was three. After some time, the younger brother went to the car where their mother, Noema Alvarez Perez, was hanging out with another family member. As the boy cried, he told his mother that he had lost sight of his sister, last seeing her on the swing set. Perez began searching for her daughter, calling out her name in an 1,100 acre park. 

The car that Perez was in was about 30 yards from the playground. At around 4:00 PM on Monday, Alvarez and her brother started playing on the swing set. When 10 minutes had passed, the boy went to the mother to tell her that Alvarez was not where he had last seen her. He pointed towards some sheds by the playground that is thought to be the last place he saw Alvarez before she went missing. Perez began searching for Alvarez alone, calling for her daughter while she walked around the park. This was around 4:50 PM and after searching for 15 minutes, Perez called her brother to help her. Perez and her brother spent another hour trying to look for Alvarez before calling the police to officially start a missing person’s search for Alvarez. When the police arrived at the scene, the search parties looked through the park and the woods on the property. They searched the area for a few days and eventually expanded the search to include the surrounding properties. The police were informed that Alvarez was last seen wearing a pink colored shirt with an elephant design on it, brown pants with flowers on them, and white dress shoes. 

During the six years since their daughter has gone missing, Perez has done interviews asking for anyone with information to come forward. Perez told CBS Philly, “I just want to find her, and I want to find that she’s OK, that nothing bad happened to her.” Perez also told the media that Alvarez never had a habit of running off, always being by her mother or grandmother when outside the house. Alvarez’s grandmother told news outlets such as FOX News that if anyone has information to help find her granddaughter it could bring peace to the family as they have lost sleep and the ability to rest peacefully while going through the pain of a missing child.  

During the search, police used K-9s and helicopters to help cover more ground. Police also questioned any possible witnesses which eventually led them to a possible suspect. The suspect described by police was a light-skinned possibly Hispanic man with a thin-build at around 5’6-5’8” in height. The suspect was also believed to have facial hair and acne. He was wearing orange sneakers, red pants, and a black shirt. The police believe that the suspect led Alvarez away from the playground into a red van with tints and a sliding door. Alvarez was placed in the back seat of the vehicle. Police also received a tip that someone matching the suspect and Alvarez’s description was seen walking around the storage sheds close to the park. Police reported no evidence of Alvarez or the suspect after investigating the area.

The media coverage of the case also pushed for public support. Bridgeton Mayor Albert Kelly spoke out about the search effort in People, “I’m just so happy that so many in the community are reaching out and asking what they can do to help. We have a good community here.” Family and members of the community met at the park to continue searching for Alvarez. Perez said that her daughter is shy, not one to talk to strangers or follow them to unknown places, further proving she may have been coerced into following the suspect. On the fourth day of the amber alert being active the federal investigators were still using bloodhounds and helicopters, but they also began using dive teams and sonar to help scour the neighborhood. 

Three years after the disappearance, the Florida based nonprofit, Anti-Predator Project joined the search. This group specializes in fighting human and sex trafficking, cyber predators, forceful abductions, and missing children reports. Trent Steele, the founder of Anti-Predator Project, specified that the group goes over cases without affecting official investigation. Steele told NBC10, “We’re going to rebuild this case from day one, from the ground up and we’re going to look at it with fresh eyes from different angles.” He also told NBC10 that they ask investigators if there is a gap in the investigation they still have not filled, while also following any tips given by citizens. 

During the investigation and search for Alvarez, the Bridgeton police were joined by the FBI who offered $5,000 for any information that leads to finding Alvarez. The investigators eventually expanded the search perimeter as far as Mexico. So far, the FBI believes that the suspect believed to be responsible for the kidnapping committed this crime purely out of opportunity. The police eventually released a sketch of the suspect. The police also contacted Alvarez’s father who was in Mexico, though this did not turn up anything of value. Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Web-McRae’s office posted on Facebook the inclusion of new investigators that have been reviewing all the evidence gathered so far. Webb-McRae told CBS news, “This investigation is like a large puzzle. There are missing puzzle pieces. We don’t know their significance or where they fit in the puzzle until the pieces are collected.”  

In the six years since Alvarez has been missing, investigators have received countless tips. Webb-McRae also told the press that any of those tips or people in the area where Alvarez was taken could be the puzzle piece that could bring her home. Webb-McRae further stated anyone who has information on the case will not have their immigration status held against them. The department has implemented AI to create age progressed photos of Alvarez. The most recent age progressed photo that authorities released was in 2023. No arrests have been made during the investigation. The original $5,000 offered by the police has increased to $75,000 from donations by businesses in the community such as Tortilleria El Paisano, a local tortilla shop. If anyone has any tips or has witnessed anything they want to report they can contact the New Jersey State Police Special Investigation Section at 1-833-465-2653 or the FBI tipline.

In our interview with Norma Alvarez Perez on The Original Sin Podcast, she was able to share the last six years with us. Perez has a gathering on her daughter’s birthday, holding the gathering on April 21 as a way of reminding the community that Dulce is still missing. The party theme was Tangled. Noema said, “They took the main character from her parents at a young age, and she reunites with them later. The movie gives me hope that Dulce will come back.” There is a tree in Dulce’s remembrance in the park where she was last seen. Noema is still optimistic that Dulce will come home, each gathering done with the hopes Dulce sees them and finds her way back to them. The police have not told Noema if the case has been made a cold case. 

Written by Podcast Blogger:

Joseph Gil