Crime & Safety

Father Contacted In Amber Alert Search For Missing NJ Girl

Authorities say they've contacted the father in the week-long search for a missing 5-year-old NJ girl. Here's the latest.

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Dulce Maria Alavez
Dulce Maria Alavez (FBI/State Police photo)

NEW JERSEY – Authorities successfully contacted the father of a missing 5-year-old girl as the Amber Alert search for the missing child entered its ninth day on Wednesday.

Investigators were successful in reaching Dulce Maria Alavez's father, who lives in Mexico, by telephone on Tuesday, according to reports. The development came as local law enforcement and the FBI are still in New Jersey and continue to investigate and track down leads received from the public, according to the Cumberland County Prosecutor' Office.

The FBI is working on having agents interview the father face-to-face, according to ABC6, so he can perhaps shed light as to why his daughter was apparently abducted from a New Jersey park.

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Read more: NJ Teacher Reportedly Removed After Comment On Amber Alert Search

Dulce is a Hispanic female who is approximately 3 feet tall, weighing 60-70 pounds and having brown eyes, and brown hair. She was last seen wearing a yellow shirt, with an elephant, as well as black-and-white pants and white shoes, at a Bridgeton park, police said.

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Detectives believe Dulce was taken by a light-skinned Hispanic male, 5-feet-6-inches to 5-feet-8 inches tall with a thin build, having facial acne, no facial hair and wearing orange sneakers, red pants and a black shirt. He allegedly led Dulce from the park to a red van with a sliding side door.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at (609) 882-2000 ext. 2857, the Bridgeton Police Department at (856) 451-0033 or CALL 911 immediately.

Investigators continue to analyze any information they've received, as well as the hundreds of tips that have been collected through the FBI tip line, (1-800-CALL-FBI) and the police department’s TIP411 text alerts, the CCPO said.

Anyone who possesses any information that they believe would be pertinent to this investigation is urged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI, OPTION 4 and then OPTION 8, or text your information to TIP411 subtext “Bridgeton." Anyone with video or pictures may upload to http://www.fbi.gov/alavez .

"To date, we continue to treat this as a missing person investigation until evidence indicates otherwise," said Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae. "Accordingly, we are operating under the premise that Dulce is alive.

"We are asking the public to be vigilant in reporting any possible sighting or information that they believe would lead us to locating the whereabouts of Dulce. "

Here is a timeline of events and what we know as of Wednesday:

  • Within an hour of her abduction on Sept. 16, Dulce was seen on video shopping for ice cream with her family.
  • Dulce was last seen after she went with her mother, Alavez, 19, to a playground area in Bridgeton City Park – behind the high school – around 4 p.m. on Sept. 16, the mother told police.
  • The mother said she stayed in her vehicle while Dulce and her 3-year-old brother ran off to play, police told Patch. The mother said she stayed with an 8-year-old relative while the children were 30 yards away.
  • Ten minutes later, the 3-year-old ran back to the car and was crying. Dulce was gone, the mother told police. A family search began soon afterward, but came up empty; police were contacted around 5 p.m.
  • A description was soon provided to police. Around that time, the suspect was last seen leading Dulce from the Bridgeton City Park playground to a red van with a sliding side door and tinted windows at approximately 4:20 p.m. on Sept. 16, police said. Here are some updated photos of the girl:
  • Law enforcement began to search on Sept. 16, and police released photos and description of the girl at 6:42 p.m.
  • The search continued on Sept. 17, starting with an extensive ground search that began at 7 a.m. and involved more than 50 officers from various agencies within the region. Fire department personnel and K9s from throughout the state also assisted, police said.
  • Bridgeton Police Chief Michael Gaimari said water rescue-and-search teams from the fire department and Downe Township assisted in the search, along with the New Jersey State Police Aviation and Missing Persons units and the FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment unit. A waterway in the park was also drained.
  • On Sept. 17, Noema Alavez issued a plea for her daughter's safe return.
  • Once the description of a possible kidnapping suspect emerged, State Police issued a statewide Amber Alert around 11 p.m. on Sept. 17, saying they believe the girl was abducted.
  • Gaimari said the Amber Alert was issued after interviewing and re-interviewing people who were in the city park near the ball fields.
  • Gaimari said officers and detectives have been conducting simultaneous investigations since the child was reported missing, with officers focused on locating the child and conducting a criminal investigation into her disappearance.
  • By Sept. 17, Dulce's mother had posted on Facebook a plea for Dulce to "come back" and added, "We miss you." By Sept. 18, the post was deleted; Noema Alavez said she was getting harassed by people who were criticizing her behavior.
  • Noema Alavez also said she stopped going to the park where her daughter disappeared since she's been dealing with an increasing level of criticism.
  • Her boyfriend, Edgar Martinez-Santiago, 27, a Mexican citizen who is not the father of Dulce, was taken into custody by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, the agency said on Sept. 18, and investigators said they hoped to interview him. Noema Alavez told NJ Advance Media that Martinez-Santiago is the father of her unborn child, and she is 5-months pregnant.
  • Also on Sept. 18, Noema Alavez told NJ Advance Media that police have suggested that members of Dulce’s family may have been involved in abduction, but she denied it. She also said her car was towed for inspection.
  • She also told NJ Advance Media that a few people grew angry when they saw her eating pizza in the park area, and she told The Philadelphia Inquirer that people criticized her on Facebook because of her past drug use, adding that she no longer smokes marijuana. She took down her entire Facebook page as a result.
  • “The police think our family did this,” she told the publication. “They think I did something to her. I didn’t. I love my daughter. I would never do nothing bad to her."
  • The Amber Alert remained in effect through the rest of the first week.
  • More than 50 law enforcement personnel scoured a ballfield near the park on Sept. 19 and 20th.
  • On Sept. 19, the FBI and the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office sought to dispel rumors circulating about the case. Dulce's grandmother appealed for her safe return home.
  • On Sept. 20, Bridgeton Police Chief Michael Gaimari shot back at a report that an arrest had been made, cautioning the media against publicizing information that's not verified.
  • Gaimari said there were no strong suspects in Dulce's disappearance and that investigators had interviewed 70 to 75 people. "Don't read anything into what happened today," the chief said. "We don't have the child."
  • Webb-McRae also thanked the girl's mother, Noema Alavez, for her cooperation – despite the criticism she's received on social media for her behavior.
  • Gaimari said law enforcement expanded their search by about 1 1/2 miles in each direction.
  • Law enforcement, in perhaps their biggest gathering yet, scoured the woods near the park on Sept. 20.
  • A vigil was held on Sept. 21 for Dulce at the park where she disappeared.
  • On Monday, Sept. 23, Webb-McRae provided a list of possible signs to look for: The offender may suddenly miss work or school and use excuses such as a death in the family, illness or car trouble. The offender may miss scheduled appointments and may suddenly leave town. Their use of alcohol and drugs may change.
  • Also on Monday, investigators from all the participating law enforcement agencies returned to the scene in the Bridgeton park where Dulce disappeared, according to the CCPO. These investigators were tasked with gathering information that could help identify any possible additional witnesses, according to the CCPO. This included a request for any members of the public who may have had any video via cell phones or other media sources.
  • On Tuesday, investigators said they've collected a significant amount of video, both commercial and residential, from the area where Dulce Maria Alavez disappeared. The videos were obtained based on investigative leads, including one that was broadcast on NBC10 on Monday night that showed a red vehicle, according to Webb-McRae.

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