PHILADELPHIA _ As the expansive search for 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez nears its third week, officials say they remain hopeful the girl who mysteriously vanished in broad daylight from a Bridgeton, N.J., playground is still alive.
"To date, we are still searching for that key piece of information to lead us to Dulce," Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said Friday.
She added: "In the absence of physical evidence that Dulce has not been physically harmed, we continue to operate ... that she is still is alive."
Since Dulce was last seen at Bridgeton City Park on Sept. 16, more than 300 officers have scoured the park and beyond, searched hundreds of buildings, contacted registered sex offenders in the area, reviewed video footage and investigated more than 500 red vehicles, Webb-McCrae said.
The prosecutor asked the public to remain vigilant, and report any sightings of a girl could be Dulce to authorities.
Dulce was last seen at the playground in the city's 1,100-acre park about 4:20 p.m. Sept. 16, and authorities have been combing the area for her since.
Though public details on Dulce's disappearance have remained scarce, rumors and attacks on the girl's mother have circulated on social media, prompting the FBI to ask the community to stop spreading false information.
An Amber Alert was issued more than 24 hours after Dulce was last seen, saying the girl was apparently abducted _ possibly by a man who, witnesses told investigators, may have led her into a red van. But officials have shifted back and forth on whether the man was a suspect or a witness, and the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office has said it is "treating this as a missing person investigation until evidence indicates otherwise."
In a newly released 911 call, Dulce's mother, Noema Alavez Perez can be heard reporting her daughter's disappearance.
On Thursday, at an unrelated news conference, Gov. Phil Murphy implored the public to speak up in hopes of bringing the girl home.
"This is about finding Dulce safe and sound. Period," Murphy said. "Bridgeton is a tight and proud community. Working together in trust and in partnership, I hope and pray we can make this happen."
