Amber Alert issued for 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez kidnapped from the playground by man in a red van
BRIDGETON, NEW JERSEY: An Amber Alert has been issued for a 5-year-old girl who went missing from a playground in Bridgeton, New Jersey, on Monday.
Dulce Maria Alavez was last seen in the area of Bridgeton City Park, behind Bridgeton High School, around 5 p.m. She has been described as a Hispanic female with black hair and brown eyes. She is three feet, five inches tall and weighs 40 pounds. She was last seen wearing a yellow shirt (with Koala Bear on front), black and white pants, with white sandals, according to the alert.
Noema Alavez, the missing girl's mother told the authorities that that Dulce was playing on the swings with her 3-year-old brother about 30 yards away from the spot where she was sitting in her car with an 8-year-old relative. When Dulce's younger brother returned to the car without his sister, Noema went looking everywhere for her daughter but could not find her.
"I went looking for her and couldn't find her and I called the cops," she said, ABC7 reported. "They were looking for her all night. The dogs were out here."
She added that she did not believe that her daughter would have wandered away on her own. "She would never do that. She is shy," she said.
Investigators are currently 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.
The suspect was described as a light-skinned Hispanic male, who was five feet, six inches tall. He was thinly built, no facial hair or acne on his face. At the time of the incident, he was seen wearing orange sneakers, red pants, and a black shirt.
It was unclear if the suspect knew the missing girl or her family.
A search and rescue team was heard calling the missing girl's name in an area half-mile from where the little girl was last seen Monday afternoon.