AMBER Alert DULCE ALAVEZ: Missing from Bridgeton, NJ - 16 Sept 2019 - Age 5

New searches planned for 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez, missing now for over 4 months

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Family and supporters will gather over the next two weekends to continue searching for 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez, who was reported missing more than four months ago.

Dulce was visiting Bridgeton City Park on a family outing Sept. 16 when she disappeared without a trace.

Bridgeton Police, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI are working to locate the girl. A reward currently stands at $75,000.


Investigators say the search for Dulce remains a top priority.

Police issued an Amber Alert for a man reportedly seen ushering the girl into a van at the park on the day she disappeared, but authorities later said they just wanted to speak with the person described in the notice.

In October, police released a sketch of a man seen at the park with young children around the time Dulce disappeared. Authorities did not describe him as a suspect, but someone they wished to interview.

www.nj.com

New searches planned for 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez, missing now for over 4 months

A $75,000 reward is being offered for information about the N.J. child, who was reported missing on Sept. 16, 2020.
www.nj.com www.nj.com

www.crimewatchers.net

DULCE ALAVEZ has been missing from Bridgeton, #NewJersey since Sept 2019 - Age 5

Dulce was visiting Bridgeton City Park on a family outing Sept. 16 when she disappeared without a trace. Bridgeton Police, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI are working to locate the girl. A reward currently stands at $75,000.
www.crimewatchers.net www.crimewatchers.net
 
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www.nj.com

‘Silent Walk’ will remember N.J. girl 2 years after mysterious disappearance from park

Dulce was 5 years old when her mother reported her missing from Bridgeton City Park on Sept. 16, 2019.
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‘Silent Walk’ will remember N.J. girl 2 years after mysterious disappearance from park​

A group of walkers will gather next Thursday afternoon at Bridgeton City Park to remind everyone of a mystery that remains unsolved after two years.

A child named Dulce Maria Alavez has yet to come home.

“We wanted to do something different,” explained one of the organizers of the walk, Anna Donnelly. “We just wanted to do a walk. We wanted to light the way to get Dulce home.”

The event, which Donnelly said will include Dulce’s family, will begin with a candle lighting at the tree dedicated in Dulce’s honor at Bridgeton City Park. The walkers will head to the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office and the Bridgeton Police Station during the trek, lighting additional battery operated candles along the way.

Rather than chanting slogans, they will march in silence, Donnelly said.
 

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Police release age-progressed image of Dulce Alavez, Bridgeton girl missing for two years​

ANTHONY V. COPPOLA | VINELAND DAILY JOURNAL | 6 hours ago
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Find out what criteria must be met before law enforcement can issue an amber alert.
WOCHIT, WOCHIT
BRIDGETON - This week marks two years since the disappearance of young Bridgeton girl Dulce Maria Alavez from a city park.
Leaders from the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office and Bridgeton Police Department on Wednesday expressed optimism that Alavez, now 7 years old, is living.
"We hold out hope that Dulce is alive (as we have no evidence of her demise) and want the public to know that this case will remain open until such time as we locate Dulce and determine those responsible for her disappearance," County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae and Bridgeton Police Chief Michael Gaimari Sr. said in a joint statement.
Along with the statement, Webb-McRae released an age-progression image of Alavez created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children with help from the case's investigative team.
Earlier: One year later, search for Dulce Maria Alavez goes on with hopes for good news
The Bridgeton Police department released this age-adjusted rendering of Dulce Maria Alavez, who went missing from a city playground in 2019.

The Bridgeton Police department released this age-adjusted rendering of Dulce Maria Alavez, who went missing from a city playground in 2019.
PROVIDED
According to Webb-McRae, "law enforcement continues to pursue all leads in its quest to find Dulce."
The Prosecutor’s Office, Bridgeton police, New Jersey State Police, New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Department of Homeland Security and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are all actively involved in the investigation, Webb-McRae said.
"We encourage our community partners to assist law enforcement by providing any information that they feel may be helpful," Webb-McRae said. "Information can be provided anonymously to the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office by visiting www.ccpo.tips or via the Bridgeton Police Department at www.bpd.tips as well."
PHOTOS: Awareness march for missing 5-year-old Dulce Alavez

​
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View | 22 Photos
PHOTOS: Awareness march for missing 5-year-old Dulce Alavez
A $75,000 reward is still being offered for information that leads to Alavez's whereabouts.

A walk organized​

Community members, meanwhile, continue to wish for Alavez's safe return.
Anna Donnelly, a 47-year-old mother of four from Vineland, is co-organizing a silent walk Thursday, Sept. 16 — the day Alavez went missing from Bridgeton City Park — "to celebrate a life that still burns bright."
Donnelly said she took interest in the case immediately and, along with a friend, remains active in the search for Alavez both around Bridgeton and online.
Donnelly said she has no contact with Alavez's family.
"We do this because if it was our child we'd want someone to do it for us," Donnelly said. "I have hope that she is alive but there is a chance that she might not be alive. "I try to keep positive but now it’s two years. I am getting worried that she might not be."
Those interested in joining the walk should meet in Bridgeton City Park behind the high school at 4 p.m. Donnelly, who asked participants to wear yellow, said the walk should begin around 4:20 p.m.
www.thedailyjournal.com

Police release age-progressed image of Dulce Alavez, Bridgeton girl missing for two years

Authorities say they remain hopeful Alavez, now 7, remains alive.
www.thedailyjournal.com
 
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www.usatoday.com

43 unsolved missing cases the FBI needs fresh leads on

While the search for Gabby Petito is over, thousands more cases need the same attention. Here's an FBI list of 43 unsolved missing persons cases.
www.usatoday.com
43 unsolved missing cases the FBI needs fresh leads on
Amid the disappearance of Gabby Petito that has captured the nation's attention, FBI officials say hundreds of thousands of people go missing every year. In May, the FBI conducted an internal audit and compiled a list of 43 unsolved cases of people under the age of 21 that the agency says need fresh leads. Some date back decades. Here's the list.

Dulce Maria Alavez was 5 when she went missing from Bridgeton, New Jersey, on Sept. 16, 2019. More information and age-progressed photos here.

Dulce Maria Alavez was 5 when she went missing from Bridgeton, New Jersey, on Sept. 16, 2019. More information and age-progressed photos here.
PROVIDED BY THE FBI
 
www.nj.com

Tree lighting planned for Dulce Alavez, N.J. child missing more than 2 years

The Christmas event is planned for Dec. 19 in Bridgeton.
www.nj.com www.nj.com

“The family is hoping for a Christmas miracle,” said Brenda Trinidad, one of the volunteers helping the family. “It’s been two long years since they celebrated any holiday with her.”

They’ll light up “Dulce’s tree,” a giant oak situated near the playground where she was last seen, and a smaller Christmas tree, Trinidad said.

The decoration theme will be the Disney movie “Frozen,” which is Dulce’s favorite.

“It’s to remind Dulce that her family is missing her and wishing she will return home for the holidays,” Trinidad said.
 

Family of N.J. girl missing since 2019 hopes new year brings answers

The family of Dulce Maria Alavez says a new FBI agent has joined the case.
www.nj.com www.nj.com

Family of N.J. girl missing since 2019 hopes new year brings answers​

The family of a Bridgeton girl missing for nearly 2 1/2 years hopes 2022 will offer a fresh start in the search for the child.

An unclaimed reward for information in the case stands at $75,000 and investigators say they continue to treat the search for Dulce as a top priority.

“New year, new hopes, new beginnings is what the family is seeking this year,” said Brenda Trinidad, one of the volunteers assisting the family in spreading the word about the case. “It’s like cleaning the slate. They want this whole year to just be focused on new findings to locate Dulce.

“The family pleads with anyone to please come forward. It’s time to bring Dulce home.”

Dulce’s mother, Noema Alavez Perez, said she met last month with an FBI agent who is new to the case.

“He just told me that he was a new agent … that they needed new agents so they could look at the case (with) fresh eyes,” Alavez Perez said. “He told me that they were not going to stop looking and that they were going to have more people with them.”

The FBI and local investigators declined to talk about the ongoing investigation and any new federal involvement in the search.



“The family has really been wanting to bring in the Texas EquuSearch,” Trinidad said. “Unfortunately, those people can only come out if the police give them permission.”

An outside group could make a difference in turning over a missed lead, she said.

“What they’re trying to see is if maybe something was left behind. It’s OK to go back and look over things. People miss a lot of things,” Trinidad said. “They want organizations to be able to come out and at least assist in the search. I think, as a family, they are entitled to that.”


“Keeping cases in the news is always a struggle,” he said. “We know someone knows something. A young lady just doesn’t disappear from a playground. It’s getting her image and the word that she’s still missing in front of the right set up eyes.”

Dulce’s mother asked that people continue sharing her daughter’s photo and to not give up on her.
 
www.nj.com

Bogus fundraiser shut down as family prepares for 8th birthday of girl missing since 2019

Dulce Maria Alavez was 5 years old when she vanished from Bridgeton City Park.
www.nj.com www.nj.com

Bogus fundraiser shut down as family prepares for 8th birthday of girl missing since 2019​

If you see an online fundraiser to support the search for missing Bridgeton girl Dulce Maria Alavez, don’t be fooled.

It’s a scam.

Dulce’s mother, Noema Alavez Perez, confirmed that the family has no online fundraisers regarding her daughter.

Her supporters posted an alert on Facebook recently, warning that a GoFundMe drive created by someone claiming to be a relative of the missing girl was phony. The pitch sought funds for the family to hire a private investigator.

Alavez Perez said she doesn’t know the person who started that GoFundMe.

A GoFundMe official confirmed Thursday that the fundraiser violated its terms of service and was removed before any money was collected. The organizer of the fundraiser was also banned from using the platform in the future, the official said.


Meanwhile, the family remains focused on the ongoing investigation of Dulce’s disappearance and is planning to mark her 8th birthday next month.

They will gather with supporters at Bridgeton City Park, near the spot where Dulce was last seen, on April 25 for a birthday celebration and awareness event.

The birthday theme is the Disney film Moana, one of Dulce’s favorites.
 
www.nj.com

Family prepares to mark third birthday since child vanished from N.J. park

Dulce Maria Alavez was 5 years old when she vanished from Bridgeton City Park in 2019.
www.nj.com www.nj.com

Family prepares to mark third birthday since child vanished from N.J. park​

Dulce Maria Alavez will turn 8 years old on April 25, but she won’t be there for an event planned in her honor at the park where she was last seen.

This will be the third birthday Dulce’s family has marked since the little girl disappeared during a family outing to Bridgeton City Park on Sept. 16, 2019.

Investigators are hopeful that she’s still alive and her mother has issued repeated pleas for her return. While one FBI agent theorized that she was likely abducted from the park by a stranger in a crime of opportunity, local authorities say all possibilities remain under consideration regarding her disappearance.


The goal is to celebrate the girl whose face has appeared on fliers and billboards nationwide and whose disappearance has drawn international attention, but also to keep her story in the public eye, according to organizers.

The event gets underway at 6 p.m. Monday, though attendees are invited to start gathering near Dulce’s Tree, a space in the park dedicated to honor the missing child, starting at 5.


“We won’t stop searching for you, Dulce,” she said. ”To the kidnapper, Dulce deserves to be with her family. They ask you return her or leave her at a local business or church. They are suffering, and with her birthday coming up, they are reminded of how much her presence is missed.”

“This case is going to remain open until we determine who is responsible for Dulce’s disappearance,” she said. “What I would like the public in this community to know and around the nation is we’re still looking for Dulce ... in the absence of evidence that she’s no longer with us, we still hold out hope that she’s alive.”


Anyone with information about Dulce is asked to contact authorities via one of these options:
  • Bridgeton Police: 856-451-0033
  • Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office: 856-453-0486
  • New Jersey State Police: 609-882-2000, ext. 2554
  • FBI: 1-800-CALL-FBI. Select option 4, then option 8.
  • Anonymous tips may be sent to Bridgeton Police at bpdops.com/tips or to the prosecutor’s office at njccpo.org/tips.
 
All are awful but there are just some that stick with a person and so many I probably don't even know of. There never even seemed to be much of a lead in this case and I just don't get it. A park, near a school, at a convenience store... I mean I DO get it but I don't...

Serenity Dennard is another with me...

I could go on... As all know...

Noah McIntosh...

Amiah Robertson...

All missing and then there are the dead...

I guess there is hope Dulce is alive but then where is she... There MUST be something... So much not shared... Great I guess for the investigation but if this was a stranger for instance was it opportunity, was this the habit/daily routine that someone may have known...

I don't know....

I do have some very specific ideas on what I would do with laws... Regarding children would be first... I'm not saying they have a perp to throw the book at but first of all just make the laws STRICT. Automatic life or death penalty and make them KNOWN. And that includes molestation and no death. The key is THROWN AWAY IF solid enough proof of course. Abduction? SAME.

Even animals most I think have some bit of common sense... Or instinct. Do YOU REALLY want to risk it? Before an act is even committed...

I'll stop there.

CAMERAS. Quit funding stupid sh*t and making stupid laws. Make it HARD for criminals! Schools and parks! Make laws that video can be obtained in an instant!! If you leave your house I expect to likely be on camera. What is the privacy or security or red tape for on obtaining an in store or parking lot video IMMEDIIATELY???

Those couple of recent Australia cases showed they have their share of crime and child crime too but man they were zoning in on video and cell phones FAST. Didn't take weeks.

I didn't stop. Sorry. Just not enamored with the bullsh*t of our systems and ways. Cops get frustrated with it I'm sure. So do prosecutors and investigators.
 
pressofatlanticcity.com

Photograph not related to Bridgeton girl's disappearance, human trafficking, prosecutor says

A photograph being shared with law enforcement as a tip is not related to the 2019 disappearance of Dulce Maria Alavez, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday.
pressofatlanticcity.com pressofatlanticcity.com

Photograph not related to Bridgeton girl's disappearance, human trafficking, prosecutor says​

A photograph being shared with law enforcement as a tip is not related to the 2019 disappearance of Dulce Maria Alavez, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday.

The office said they had thoroughly investigated the photograph, which depicts a man in a blue shirt and tan pants walking with a young girl dressed in pink away from a white van. It concluded the photograph is not related to Alavez’s disappearance and does not involve human trafficking.

The office nevertheless thanked the public for sharing the information. It also credited law enforcement for investigating the photograph.

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Where is Dulce Maria Alavez?

It’s been almost three years since the abduction of a little girl from a suburban park in Bridgeton,...
www.missingkids.org www.missingkids.org

Where is Dulce Maria Alavez?​

It’s been almost three years since the abduction of a little girl from a suburban park in Bridgeton, New Jersey dominated news headlines, unsettling communities across the country with the idea that a child could be snatched in broad daylight and vanish.

Three years later and we still don’t know what happened to Dulce, who would now be 8 years old. Her family continues to hold vigils and walks, anything to keep her name and picture out there. Last year, law enforcement released two age progression images of Dulce, created by a forensic artist at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, to show what Dulce might look like as she’s growing up.

image.img.jpg
 
www.nj.com

Vigil planned to mark 3 years since 5-year-old Dulce Alavez vanished from N.J. park

The girl disappeared during a family outing at Bridgeton City Park in 2019.
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Vigil planned to mark 3 years since 5-year-old Dulce Alavez vanished from N.J. park​

No one should give up hope that Dulce Maria Alavez, a 5-year-old who vanished while playing in a New Jersey park, will be found one day, said an advocate for missing children as her family and the community prepare to mark the third anniversary of her disappearance.

Family members and supporters will return to Bridgeton City Park in Cumberland County on Friday to offer prayers and renew their commitment to bringing the child home.

“Although three years is an incredibly sad milestone, it doesn’t stop the fight in searching to find her quickly and safely,” said John Bischoff, vice president of the missing children division at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

“Children have been found at the three-year mark, the five-year mark and so on. It’s too early to give up hope on anything. We’re in this to find Dulce and we will not stop until we do,” he added.

The fact that Dulce hasn’t been found yet isn’t for a lack of trying, Bischoff said. All agencies involved in the case, including the FBI, Bridgeton Police Department and the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, remain dedicated to finding the child, he said.
 
www.nj.com

Where is Dulce Alavez? Family frozen in time 3 years into one of N.J.’s biggest mysteries

Dulce's mother talks about her biggest regret about the day the 5-year-old disappeared and her fears about who may have taken the girl.
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Where is Dulce Alavez? Family frozen in time 3 years into one of N.J.’s biggest mysteries​

All of Dulce Alavez’s favorite possessions — the flowing dresses she loved to wear as she twirled around the family’s home and her beloved dolls and toys — are neatly packed away, waiting for her to walk back through the door.

There’s the battery-operated Elsa figure from her favorite film, Disney’s “Frozen,” that she used to sing with as she danced, often while wearing her Elsa dress. There are the colorful outfits she wore in photos displayed all over the house.

And there’s her backpack, featuring characters from “Frozen,” that sits exactly as the 5-year-old left it when she returned from her first days of kindergarten, the folders and papers she last touched still inside.

Three years after Dulce vanished from a Cumberland County park in one of New Jersey’s most high-profile unsolved missing person cases, her family continues to hold out hope she will return home. That’s one reason they remain living in the same rented duplex in Bridgeton that was Dulce’s home before she disappeared, said Noema Alavez Perez, her mother.

“I have all of Dulce’s dresses in safekeeping. We have not gotten rid of any of her clothes. We haven’t given it away. Her dresses, her shoes, all of it. Her toys, too,” Alavez Perez said.

“We don’t let anyone touch her things. They’re there for her.”



There’s 6-year-old M, who was with Dulce when she disappeared in the park, but the then-3-year-old wasn’t very verbal at the time and was unable to say what happened to his sister. Alavez Perez, who was pregnant when Dulce vanished, now also has E, age 2, and another daughter, H, who is now 1.

M, or M as his mom calls him, was unable to speak much as a 3-year-old, but is more vocal now, according to his mom. The family sometimes asks him what he remembers about the day Dulce vanished.

“We try to talk to him and he says that he only remembers a little bit, not that much,” Alavez Perez said. “He tries to say the words, but he can’t find the correct words to use.”



While Garrabrant cast doubt in 2020 about any possible involvement by close family members, investigators maintain that no one has been cleared. However, they repeatedly noted the family continues to cooperate.

Dulce’s mother acknowledged police still ask periodically to review her cellphone, including earlier this year.

“I think they looked at my phone again like in February of this year,” Alavez Perez said. “They took it for one day and gave it back.”

She said she was told they were checking the phone again in case they missed something. “I’m like, OK. I’ll be cooperative and I gave it to them,” she said.

Asked if she believes police view her as a suspect in her daughter’s disappearance, Alavez Perez said she isn’t sure.

“I don’t know,” she said in Spanish. “Sometimes, I do feel like they think it was me. Or that it was someone close to me.”

She remains uncertain if Dulce was taken by someone she knows, she said.

“The truth is, I don’t know. Could it be someone trying to hurt me? I don’t know,” Alavez Perez said.



When asked if she has a message for her daughter, Alavez Perez grew tearful as she spoke. Two-year-old E, who had been engrossed in her coloring book, stopped and looked up at her mother.

Alavez Perez asked Dulce for her forgiveness.

“I should have been there, by her side, the whole time,” she said in Spanish. “I wish I could rewind time and be there with her and tell her how much I love her and spend all the mother-daughter time with her. That I am very sorry for not having been such a good mother and for being careless that day with her and her brother.”

Alavez Perez vowed to never lose hope that she will see Dulce again.

“I’m going to continue to look for her and I will continue to wait for her.”
 
www.nj.com

Christmas gathering planned for N.J. child missing more than 3 years

Dulce Maria Alavez was 5 years old when she vanished from Bridgeton City Park in 2019.
www.nj.com www.nj.com

Published: Dec. 05, 2022, 8:21 a.m.
By Matt Gray | For NJ.com


Christmas has always been Dulce Alavez’s favorite holiday, according to her family.

Holidays like these haven’t been the same since the little girl disappeared three years ago during a visit to a Bridgeton park, her mom said last year.

Later this month, Dulce’s family and local supporters will return to Bridgeton City Park to celebrate the now-8-year-old and offer prayers for her return.

The Christmas gathering will take place Dec. 16 at 6 p.m. at Dulce’s Tree, a giant oak dedicated to the girl and adorned with flowers, candles, photos and messages of hope for the child’s return.
 
www.nj.com

Missing Black and brown people rarely get media attention, group says. Here are 18 who vanished in N.J.

A 5-year-old who disappeared from a park. A teenager who went to the bank and never came home. A young mother who never arrived to pick up her toddler from the babysitter. The Black & Missing Foundation was created to highlight cases involving people of color that often don't get much news coverage.
www.nj.com www.nj.com

More than three years after she vanished from a Cumberland County park, Dulce Maria Alavez has joined the ranks of the long-term missing.

Dulce was 5 when her mother reported she disappeared during a family outing to Bridgeton City Park on Sept. 16, 2019. Her whereabouts remain a mystery.

Now, she’s one of around 1,000 children in a database on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s website listing longterm missing kids.

Dulce also appears on another online registry put together by the Black & Missing Foundation — a nonprofit group founded in 2008 that highlights the cases of missing Black people and other people of color who don’t often land in the media spotlight.

The site features missing people of color from New Jersey, including Dulce, whose disappearance has continued to receive local media attention, especially on her birthday, holidays and other dates when supporters hold vigils to keep her name in the news.
 
www.nj.com

Don’t forget about Dulce, supporters say, as missing N.J. girl’s 9th birthday approaches

Dulce Maria Alavez was 5 years old when she disappeared from a New Jersey park.
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Brenda Trinidad is frustrated with the lack of answers in the disappearance of a Bridgeton girl more than three-and-a-half years ago.

Trinidad volunteers with a group working to spread awareness about the case of Dulce Maria Alavez, who was 5 years old when she vanished from Bridgeton City Park during a family outing on Sept. 16, 2019. Trinidad is helping organize a birthday celebration this weekend in honor of the missing child.

Dulce’s 9th birthday is Tuesday and her family and supporters will gather at the park this Sunday to remember her and try to keep her story alive.
 
www.nj.com

Anti-predator group joins hunt for missing N.J. girl Dulce Alavez

Investigators from the Florida-based organization will travel to New Jersey to try to solve one of New Jersey's biggest mysteries.
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Anti-predator group joins hunt for missing N.J. girl Dulce Alavez​

A new group has joined the search for a New Jersey girl who disappeared more than 3 1/2 years ago.

The Florida-based Anti-Predator Project says it will investigate the case of Dulce Maria Alavez, who was 5 years old when her mother reported her missing from a Bridgeton park on Sept. 16, 2019.

The group’s co-founder and president, Trent Steele, described his organization as a “fully licensed, non-profit private investigation firm” staffed with volunteers who bring an array of experience from work in law enforcement, the military and the intelligence community.

“We specialize in all things human trafficking- and missing children-related,” Steele said. “Between everybody on our team, we’ve got well over a couple hundred years of missing children and human trafficking and organized crime case experience between us.”



“We’re in the very early stages of this,” Steele said. “We’ve gone over the case file. We’ve had the initial meeting with the family. We’re going to start our process of reaching out to law enforcement and seeing what we can do to assist them.”

As a nonprofit group, the Anti-Predator Project has access to technology to aid in the search at a lower cost than law enforcement, Steele said.

However, most of the group’s work won’t take place behind a computer screen, Steele added.

“The reality is that a lot of these cases, and Dulce’s is no different, really come down to just good old-fashioned detective work,” he said. “Knocking on doors, talking to people, putting things together and analyzing a lot of things that probably didn’t make sense at first, but now they do.”

“There’s a good chance that in the next 90 days or so, people in Bridgeton will see me and a couple of members of our team up in town talking to some people,” Steele added.


Brenda Trinidad, who leads a volunteer group supporting Dulce’s family, hopes Steele’s group can make a difference.

“They work with Homeland Security, they have ex-FBI agents, they have everything that they need to be able to bring her home. That’s their goal anyway,” she said, adding that Dulce’s mom is thankful for the assistance.

“She was super-excited about that. She doesn’t refuse any kind of help that comes along. She feels real confident with these people and she feels like they have an understanding to her situation,” Trinidad said.


Steele acknowledged the challenges of cracking tough cases like Dulce’s.

“Sometimes I feel like we’re a doctor that only gets terminal patients. We don’t get a lot of easy cases,” he said. “We get a lot of the very complex cases. Obviously, Dulce’s case falls into that category. Sometimes we’re able to make things work and sometimes we hit the same walls as everybody else.”

The group has had many successes.

“We actually just brought back a young lady that’s been missing from Florida since 2013 from Mexico. That’s a win,” Steele said, noting that he cannot identify the woman because of the ongoing sensitive nature of the case. Her return was documented in a video posted to the organization’s Facebook page with some faces blurred to protect identities.

“We’ve been involved in quite a few high-profile cases. We’re involved in the Alicia Navarro case in Arizona,” he added. Alicia was 14 years old when she vanished from her home in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 15, 2019, just a day before Dulce disappeared. Alicia left a note saying she would return, but her family fears she was lured away by someone she met online, according to media reports.

In cases like Dulce’s, the general public often grows frustrated with local investigators when answers don’t come quickly, Steele said, but outside observers may not be aware of what’s happening behind the scenes.

“Nine times out of 10, law enforcement has something in their back pocket that they’re not telling everybody … that they’re kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak, before they do something,” he said. “It’s not that law enforcement’s not working on the case, they just have to do it very quietly.”

His group doesn’t storm into an ongoing investigation, Steele said. They plan to reach out to local police and not “step on whatever they’re doing or step on their toes,” he said.
 
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