Dulce Alavez: Family of New Jersey 5-year-old receive another cryptic letter months after her disappearance
CUMBERLAND, OHIO: Cryptic and anonymous letters with references to missing New Jersey child, Dulce Maria Alavez, 5, have been arriving in New Jersey.
A woman, Jackie Rodriguez has been acting as a spokeswoman for Dulce's family. Rodriguez revealed that on March 4 afternoon that she received a letter that was postmarked Cleveland Ohio containing many slips of paper filled with scribbled phrases. The handwriting in the letter was barely legible.
A few of the words in the random letter read "Alaska," "Mexico," "border," "1776" and "civil war." A few of the other legible words included "New England town" and "kids homes orphanage." Rodriguez handed over the letter to the authorities for investigation. "My husband said that it looked like a child’s handwriting," Rodriguez shared, reports NJ.com.
Ever since Dulce vanished from a Bridgeton park during a family outing in September last year, Rodriguez has often received random messages including via social media from people claiming to be psychics with information on little Dulce's whereabouts. "People inbox me because they get visions that they know where she is. They’ve sent me information like that before," Rodriguez revealed.
A group of residents had conducted a search behind Dulce's school based on such a tip though nothing was found. Rodriguez is worried that someone has contacted her in such a direct and strange way. "It’s scary because now it’s near my family," she shared. She also believes that the letters should be taken very seriously until they can be ruled out as evidence. The letter's return address appears to link to a previous barely legible letter that directly addresses the Alavez case.
However, if these are phony leads she wants to see the person responsible being held accountable. "I really hope they do get whoever this is and press some kind of charges against them. What they’re doing is interfering with the investigation. The detectives are concentrating on facts and then this comes in and makes it even more difficult," she shared.
This was not the first cryptic letter to be received and more than five months after her disappearance, letters were sent to two businesses and a library in Ohio. A letter and an index card that referred to Dulce were mailed to a local library and casino in Austintown Ohio. As per the contents of the letter, a search was conducted of a large wooded area but nothing was found.
Initially, investigators were looking for a male suspect, who is believed to have led Dulce from the playground to a red van with a sliding door and tinted windows. The man was suspected to have driven away with the 5-year-old.
Authorities ask anyone with information about Dulce to call the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at 609-882-2000, ext. 2554, or the Bridgeton police at 856-451-0033. Tips may also be phoned into 1-800-CALL-FBI and select option 4, then select option 8. Anonymous tips may be sent by text to TIP411 with “Bridgeton” in the message line.