'We Can Do Much More': Bridgeton Community Continues Search For Missing 5-Year-Old Dulce Maria Alavez
BRIDGETON, N.J. (CBS) -- Another week has come and gone without any sign of 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez. Dulce was kidnapped in early September. Her loved ones and complete strangers spent their Sunday morning searching for clues.
Honing in on storm drains and other areas along a tree line, dozens of people fanned out into the woods in Bridgeton looking for any sign of Dulce on Sunday.
"We are worrying -- have hope that we can find her today," Dulce's mom, Noema Alavez-Perez, said.
Alavez-Perez helped to lead the charge with members of the United Chaplains Association.
"If we get together as a community, we can do much more in trying to find this young lady," Luis Serrano said.
Sunday's search went beyond the Bridgeton City Park playground where police say Dulce was abducted on Sept. 16, not far from where her mother sat in a parked car with an 8-year-old relative.
Searching the wooded area based on a tip the grandmother received, the day started out with a prayer.
The rain didn't serve as a deterrent in the search for clues.
"In God's name, we hope and pray that we can today. It doesn't matter if it's raining. That's not going to stop us. We're here on a mission," Serrano said.
The Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office released a sketch earlier this month of a man they believe to have been in the park at the time Dulce went missing.
For now, Dulce's family is still holding onto hope that the 5-year-old will be found safe and sound.