Sketch Released in Case of Missing 5-Year-Old N.J. Girl Who Vanished While Playing in Park

Sketch Released in Case of Missing 5-Year-Old N.J. Girl Who Vanished While Playing in Park

A sketch has been released of a man possibly involved in the disappearance of a 5-year-old girl who vanished while playing in a New Jersey park.

Authorities released the sketch after a witness claimed to have spotted the man in the park at the same time as missing 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez.

Dulce was reported missing on Sept. 16 after she was seen being taken by a man and led to a red van with a sliding door and tinted windows.

The man in the sketch was reportedly seen with one or two young children under the age of 5 when Dulce went missing and was wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans and a white baseball cap. He is described as Hispanic and believed to be between 30 and 35 years old, standing 5 feet 7 inches with a slender build.

Sketch Released in Case of Missing 5-Year-Old N.J. Girl Who Vanished While Playing in Park
Sketch Released in Case of Missing 5-Year-Old N.J. Girl Who Vanished While Playing in Park

“We are asking this person (or anyone who may recognize him) to come forward as investigators wish to speak with him as it is believed that he may have information that is helpful in determining the circumstances that led to Dulce’s disappearance,” the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release.

At the time of her disappearance, Dulce and her younger brother had been playing in Bridgeton City Park while their mother sat in her car in the parking lot about 30 yards away.

After about 10 minutes, the 3-year-old returned to the car, saying he was unable to find his sister. He pointed his mother to the area where he last saw her, but Dulce was nowhere to be found.

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The family began to search the area and eventually called police. The following day State Police issued an AMBER Alert.

The sketch is not from an earlier description given by a child that led to the AMBER Alert, authorities said.

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Dulce was last seen wearing black and white pants, a yellow shirt with an elephant and white shoes. She is a Hispanic girl with brown eyes and hair standing 3 feet tall and weighing between 60 and 70 pounds.

The reward for information leading to the location of Dulce is now up to $52,000. Anyone who has information is reminded that authorities will not question them about their immigration status. Information may be supplied anonymously by texting TIP411 subtext Bridgeton.

Anyone who can identify this man or who has information about the case is asked to contact Bridgeton Police Department at 856-451-0033.