Noema Alavez Perez recounts the day her daughter, Dulce María, disappeared in September 2019 while playing at a park in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The police, FBI, and various search organizations are still looking for her, offering a reward of $75,000 for information on her whereabouts. According to statistics from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Hispanic children lead the number of reported missing cases in the U.S., followed by white and Black children. The center’s data is considered more precise than other agencies since discrepancies in general figures of missing people exist due to the optional ethnicity field when cases are registered.
Hispanic children going missing falls into general categories of reasons for disappearances as other population groups, including endangered runaways, family abductions, nonfamily abductions, and missing for other reasons. Family abductions represent around 5% of missing cases recorded. Experts believe the higher incidence of Hispanic children reported missing could be related to issues within marginalized communities such as poverty and inequality, leading children to flee. Steps to take when a child disappears include contacting the police and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for assistance in spreading the word and gathering information.
Alavez Perez, a U.S. citizen born to Mexican parents, believes that some parents may mistakenly trust that the U.S. is safer than other countries, leading to situations where children go missing. She emphasizes the importance of staying vigilant and taking precautions to protect children. Alavez Perez has sought the help of organizations like the Anti-Predator Project to investigate new leads in Dulce María’s case. The case remains open, with authorities expressing hope that Dulce María is still alive given the lack of evidence confirming her death.
Alavez Perez continues to hold onto hope that she will find Dulce María and expresses her love and longing for her missing daughter. She urges anyone with information about her daughter’s whereabouts to come forward. The Bridgeton Police Department, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, and the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit have not provided any updates on the case. Anyone needing to report a missing child or share information can contact 911, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, or the nearest FBI office. The search for Dulce María and the thousands of missing children in the U.S. remains ongoing as families like Alavez Perez’s seek closure and reunion with their loved ones.
