Amber alert issued for 5-year-old girl who vanished from Cumberland County park – NJ.com

UPDATE: N.J. Amber Alert update: Mom pleads for abducted 5-year-old girl’s safe return as search resumes

An Amber Alert was issued Tuesday night for the 5-year-old girl who went missing Monday night while playing with a sibling at a Bridgeton park playground

Dulce Maria Alavez was taken by a light-skinned possibly Hispanic male, roughly 5-foot six-inches tall who was wearing orange sneakers, red pants, and a black shirt, according to the alert issued by the New Jersey State Police shortly after 10 p.m.

The man led her from the Bridgeton City Park playground to a red van with a sliding door and tinted windows, put her in the back seat and drove off around 4:20 p.m. on Monday, police said.

Dulce was last seen wearing a yellow shirt with an elephant on the front, black and white pants and white shoes, the alert stated.

Anyone with information was urged to call 911, the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at (609) 882-2000 ext. 2857 or the Bridgeton Police Department at 856-451-0033.

Alavez’s mother, Noema Alavez, drove her kids to a playground area in the park a little after 4 p.m. and had just gotten ice cream at a nearby custard stand, she told police.

Dulce and her 3-year-old brother ran off to play, while the mom stayed in the vehicle with an 8-year-old relative, Bridgeton Police Chief Michael Gaimari said on Tuesday.

After about 10 minutes, the 3-year-old ran back to the car crying and pointed to the area where he said he last saw his sister which included some storage buildings near the playground.

“I saw my son crying because someone had threw his ice cream on the floor and after that he started pointing behind those buildings over there,” Noema told reporters while gesturing toward the structures located near the play area. “We thought she was just hiding … she was just playing hide and seek.”

Police have not been able to confirm that the ice cream incident occurred, Gaimari said later Tuesday.

Noema said she looked around for 10 to 15 minutes before calling her brother for help and ultimately contacting the police shortly before 5 p.m.

Investigators searched the 1,000-acre park, its adjoining neighborhoods and nearby Sunset Lake throughout the day on Tuesday before calling off the search after it became too dark.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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