AMBER ALERT NJ - Dulce Maria Alavez, 5, abducted at Bridgeton City Park, 16 Sept 2019

[tazikigirl]

I read through the thread but it would be good to know if there have been any reported attempted lurings in the area, with a vehicle description similar. I would not be surprised at all.

There was a report of an attempted abduction of a 6-year-old girl in a town in central Jersey (Howell) the day before this happened. The vehicle was described as a black SUV and the police decided to suspend their investigation based on a lack of evidence.

Howell police end attempted abduction probe: 'I do not believe this act occurred'

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Hi, I have been following along here since around the morning after the Amber Alert. I have followed a few other cases on this site and when I heard about this missing girl thought this was one of the best places on the web to get good info. I appreciate that opinions are shared, but it is a respectable conversation that avoids unsubstantiated gossip.

I live in the area near Bridgeton. I visited this park complex with my children last month. I have not been to the playground where she was last seen. I used to work at the high school located very close to this area. I have some what familiarity with the culture and hope to share some info that may help the discussion here. I read through the rules and will do my best to stay within the lines, but please let me know if I overstep in any way not respected here.
I just hope that she is alive and found soon. It breaks my heart.

I’m so glad you’ve joined the WS community. Welcome, local.

 

[ProtectChildren]

Something I have not seen discussed and may not have any relation to Dulce going missing, but I feel is worth mentioning is that there was a major fire on Monday just earlier around 1 pm in this same area. I cannot find info if the major roads were closed, but fire fighters were on the scene until around 4. I just feel like this could have been a major focus of police and others during the time Dulce went missing and that roads may have been closed. This would limit the roads available to a possible abductor.

Fire At Deerfield Plant In Cumberland County: Police

 

[MissMalowe]

Just did a quick search and so many runners come in orange. As well as timberland boots/shoes. I do wonder if it was someone playing basketball but just seems weird to me. Idk.

I did a search yesterday too. I only did a search for Nike since it was mentioned in a report as a possible brand and there were TONS of orange shoes by Nike. I was very surprised by how many, just with that one brand. I wasn't expecting that.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The search for the five-year-old Bridgeton, New Jersey girl has picked up on what is now the fifth day of her disappearance. KYW Newsradio's Tim Jimenez was there Friday morning as crews gathered and were then sent out to look for the girl.
Authorities sweep Bridgeton on Day 5 of search for Dulce Maria Alavez

 

[Jo in Calif]

This is sounding like LE needs to re interview the re interviewed person that gave this detailed, not so detailed description of the kidnapper.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The reward for information about Dulce Maria Alavez, the 5-year-old New Jersey girl who went missing Monday while playing in a park, has increased to $30,000 as of Friday morning.

The FBI, Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office and New Jersey State Police Benevolent Association have each contributed $5,000 to the reward total, along with $15,000 from private businesses as authorities enter the fifth day of the search.

“We know that members of law enforcement are working tirelessly with people throughout the community to find this little girl,” PBA President Patrick Colligan Colligan said in a statement Friday morning. “We are hopeful that offering a reward today will help lead to her safe return. "If anyone has any information that will help lead to the location of Dulce Alavez, please call local law enforcement or the FBI hotline.”

Police from multiple agencies convened early Friday on the football field at Bridgeton High School as searchers prepared to again comb Bridgeton City Park, where Dulce went missing around 4:20 p.m. Monday while playing with her 3-year-old brother. The high school is near the park and a New Jersey State Police helicopter is parked on one of the athletic fields.

Groups of State Police troopers and officers in fatigues searched various parts of the park Friday morning. The officers were gathered in groups of 10 to 20. They concentrated their efforts on heavily wooded areas.
Amber Alert update: Reward increased to $30K in search for missing 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez

 

[bykerladi]

If she was allegedly taken by a male in a red van, why are we still searching the park? Shouldn't we be searching for red vans? How many red vans are there in NJ? Or, better yet, just Cumberland county? I can't believe there are that many.

 

[ProtectChildren]

A few years ago there was a lot of attention that gang members would wear specific sneakers to show their association. Nike sneakers, specifically Nike Cortez's were identified. I have been looking to see if orange Nikes are associated with any gangs and not seeing anything certain. The sneakers could have been truly identified by a witness or on video. Another possibility is someone falsely has put it out there that the sneakers were orange as a public statement to people who understand gang culture and symbolism. This is speculation of course.

edit for spelling were/wear

 

[missingm]

If she was allegedly taken by a male in a red van, why are we still searching the park? Shouldn't we be searching for red vans? How many red vans are there in NJ? Or, better yet, just Cumberland county? I can't believe there are that many.

A LOT.

 

[Rosiebones]

A few years ago there was a lot of attention that gang members would wear specific sneakers to show their association. Nike sneakers, specifically Nike Cortez's were identified. I have been looking to see if orange Nikes are associated with any gangs and not seeing anything certain. The sneakers could have been truly identified by a witness or on video. Another possibility is someone falsely has put it out there that the sneakers were orange as a public statement to people who understand gang culture and symbolism. This is speculation of course.

edit for spelling were/wear

ITA with you @ProtectChildren , the description of the person was so detailed and the circumstances so not detailed ( was she crying, did she walk to the car or was she carried etc.) that I felt that she was a target only as retaliation or as a warning.
Especially if the acne that was noted was actually meth sores.

 

[JerseyGirl]

I found various attempts in the recent past of luring young children in a red van from states such as Colorado, North Dakota, Tinley Park IL.

 

[JC40]

I don't believe they have CCTV images (or clear ones) of a possible suspect / vehicle because they would have released them by now.

 

[ProtectChildren]

If she was allegedly taken by a male in a red van, why are we still searching the park? Shouldn't we be searching for red vans? How many red vans are there in NJ? Or, better yet, just Cumberland county? I can't believe there are that many.

In trying to understand this the idea that perhaps Dulce was taken from the park and then recently returned to the park came to me. My mind is in overdrive trying to figure this out and hope it is not the case because of the implications.

I do not believe with the extensive search they did in the first few days at the park that they could have missed her. They were draining the waterways and had divers and dogs. It seemed very thorough.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

It seems to me that they should have mostly cadaver dogs out on this search if they think she is there, and that is hard for me to say.

I agree.

Sadly I'm sure they may have cadaver dogs with this many days passing. Also I'm sure they have alive ground scent dogs hoping upon hope they miraculously find her alive in the areas they are continuing to faithfully search.

Something is telling LE they believe she's STILL in this same general area. They make all of their decisions wisely.

They know already when an offender abducts a child the child's bodies are often found in the same general area.

Yes, it pains me greatly to even write this too, but, most assuredly LE knows all too well those often turnout to be the facts which they can't simply ignore them even though those facts are brutal.

But immediately upon arriving with the dogs they should have had air trailing scent dogs above all others because of their capabilities to trail live scents of victims who are inside a moving vehicle at the time of capture.

If LE has been able to also localize the scent of the offender the air trailing scent dogs are also capable of tracking the air scent left by them in a moving vehicles.

They are truly amazing animals who are warriors for justice many times for victims.

I find them right up there with the amazing dogs who can be in a boat, and can detect drowned or murdered victims way below the surface of their watery graves temporarily, who are found so they can be brought home for a respectful deserved burial.

Jmho

 

[NJLefe]

Long time lurker, first time posting. I am in North Jersey so this case hits close to home. I have so many different theories about what happened, but was taken aback/confused by the press conference yesterday. What the prosecutor said when referencing the alleged abductor. ... I find this statement odd. “He may not even know he has information that could help find Dulce”. I thought this was the reported person who abducted her. Are they now saying that he may just have information but may not be responsible for Dulce’s disappearance? It sounds like they are not certain that this guy actually abducted her, or the story has changed and there is no proof that he actually put her into the van.

“Webb-McRae said they believe the man being sought may have information that will ‘greatly assist us.’ She said the man -- described as a light-skinned, possibly Hispanic man wearing a black shirt and red pants with orange sneakers -- may not even realize he has information that could help authorities find Dulce, but she did not elaborate.”

'You can't imagine what we are going through': Family of missing girl

 

[TTF14]

What if this whole description of the suspect was given by the actual suspect, thus making it all up to distract people from him/her? That description is way too detailed to not come from CCTV or several people. If it came from only one person, then I don't know if I believe that sighting.

Or it could have been an accurate description but just some random person with his own daughter.

 

[BinDerSmokDat]

I don't know why people seem to think red minivans are so rare.
A quick search on Cars.com shows 417 red minivans for sale within 100 miles of Bridgeton.
If you open that up to full sized cargo and passenger vans, that's another 50-60 vans depending on how you define the search criteria.
Given that is the number for sale, then there has to be at least a thousand on the road in the area.

Yes, "red" is a broad description encompassing everything from bright red metallic candy apple to dark burgundy, but since the police themselves haven't given a more narrow description you have to consider all possibilities.
You would need to have an officer contact EVERY red van in the area and ascertain where they were at the time of the incident.

Not impossible, but also not an easy task.

 

[dotr]

A few years ago there was a lot of attention that gang members would wear specific sneakers to show their association. Nike sneakers, specifically Nike Cortez's were identified. I have been looking to see if orange Nikes are associated with any gangs and not seeing anything certain. The sneakers could have been truly identified by a witness or on video. Another possibility is someone falsely has put it out there that the sneakers were orange as a public statement to people who understand gang culture and symbolism. This is speculation of course.

edit for spelling were/wear

Welcome to WS ProtectChildren, thanks for the food for thought!
Sep 29 2017,
gang members have been warned not to wear the nike cortez

Photography Douglas C. Pizac-Pool/Getty Images

"First released in 1972, the Cortez is one of Nike's most popular sneakers. The style was recently re-launched and has a vintage vibe with a thin sole and muted colorways. The Cortez harks back to the shoes worn by basketball players when peach baskets were used as hoops and the balls were made of leather. But the shoe has taken on a new meaning and functionality outside of sports. The notorious U.S. and Central American gang MS-13 has adopted the Nike Cortez as part of its uniform, functioning as a sign of allegiance. The shoe has become so closely linked to the transnational gang, in fact, that police in gang areas commonly assume that anyone wearing the shoe is involved with MS-13. This summer, two men were beaten to death by gang members because one of them was wearing Cortezs."

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Federal Bureau of Investigation