NEW JERSEY – The FBI has provided an update in the nearly five-month Amber Alert search for 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez, offering hope in the long investigation just as searchers have begun to express dismay.

"I always ask her, 'Is there anything you're afraid of saying?' " Rodriguez said, who has previously suggested that Noema Alavez may know more than she's let on. "She could be trying to protect her daughter and she's scared" of saying anything.

A spokeswoman for the family, Jackie Rodriguez, even expressed frustration in an interview with Patch that Dulce's mother has not been more forthcoming about what she may or may not know in the missing persons case.

As for Rodriguez's comments about how Dulce's mother may be "scared" to reveal information, Ehrie said: "In general, when a person is threatened in connection with an FBI matter, they should report it. Witness tampering is a crime."

The FBI, meanwhile, remains involved in the Bridgeton area investigation and will stay involved, Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie told Patch. "We will not stop looking for that child until there is a resolution," he said.

The FBI's Newark office has dedicated "countless hours of manpower" in the search for Dulce, Ehrie said. The FBI works closely with the Bridgeton police chief and the Cumberland County prosecutor "in the effort to bring this child home," he said.

Even with these efforts, Ehrie said, "We still need the public's help."

"If you know something, if you saw something, no matter how small a detail, contact us or the Bridgeton police," Ehrie said. "We are not concerned with anyone's legal status. Our focus is on finding a missing child."

Rodriguez said local residents are still conducting searches, but morale has been weighed down by a lack of leads and declining interest.

"If you are the person responsible for or involved in the disappearance of this child, it is better for you to come to us before we come to you."

She's also not pleased that Phil McGraw, host of the "Dr. Phil" TV program who interviewed the family for a November show, hasn't really followed through on his promises to help find the possible kidnappers, she said. Efforts to contact a representative of his show were not immediately successful.

McGraw did help raise the reward money to $75,000.

"It's a shame that we're losing the people, Rodriguez said. "They (people who have helped search for Dulce) want answers and they want to hear something. But there's nothing to give."

Rodriguez said the mother is worried and "she doesn't know what to do." Despite her own reservations about her behavior, however, Rodriguez has defended Noema against others who question why she is "very quiet" and why she hasn't shown more emotion in public.

"She told me that, when she was in high school, she was very quiet and she didn't have any friends," Rodriguez said. "She says she does not cry. She doesn't even cry in front of her family.

Rodriguez wants help for Dulce's younger brother and her mother, saying both need counseling as they deal with the ongoing investigation and their own personal struggles.

Police officers, meanwhile, continue to conduct a community outreach effort in the Bridgeton area to remind everyone that law enforcement is still seeking information that will lead them "to those responsible for Dulce's disappearance," according to the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office. Officers have conducted road canvasses and door-to- door visits.

Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae has said the five-month-old case is active and that the family has been very cooperative as investigators have expanded their efforts.



Investigators continue to search wooded areas, waterways and vacant buildings in the Bridgeton area, she's said. They've also checked on the status of sex offenders in South Jersey to see if they have any possible connections to the case.

Billboards have appeared on highways asking people to call police if they have any sign or any information that could lead to Dulce's discovery. A GoFundMe page was set up to raise money to pay for more billboards in the Bridgeton area.

Webb-McRae has said her office has "not given up and remains hopeful that we will determine the circumstances that led to Dulce's disappearance."

"We ask the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious information," she said. "We are still looking for that one piece of information that cracks this case. We need the public's help to do so."

Dulce is a Hispanic girl who is about 3 feet tall, weighing 60-70 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen at a Bridgeton park wearing a yellow shirt with an elephant on it, as well as black-and-white pants and white shoes, police said.



Detectives said they believe Dulce was taken by a light-skinned Hispanic male, 5 feet, 6 inches to 5 feet, 8 inches tall with a thin build, facial acne, no facial hair and wearing orange sneakers, red pants and a black shirt. He allegedly led Dulce from the park to a red van with a sliding side door.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at 609-882-2000, ext. 2857; the Bridgeton Police Department at 856-451-0033; or by calling 911 immediately.

Investigators are continuing to analyze information they've received, along with the hundreds of tips that have been collected through the FBI tip line (800-CALL-FBI) and the police department's TIP411 text alerts, prosecutors said.



Anyone who with information they think is important to the FBI investigation is urged to call 800-CALL-FBI and choose option 4 and then option 8, or text the information to TIP411 subtext "Bridgeton." Anyone with video or pictures can upload them to http://www.fbi.gov/alavez .

"To date, we continue to treat this as a missing-person investigation until evidence indicates otherwise," Webb-McRae said. "Accordingly, we are operating under the premise that Dulce is alive.

"We are asking the public to be vigilant in reporting any possible sighting or information that they believe would lead us to locating the whereabouts of Dulce. "

Here is a timeline of events and what we know as of Monday:

