Episode 220: Dulce Maria Alavez: Part 1

On September 16, 2019, 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez was playing in a park with her 3-year-old brother. It was a gorgeous day in Bridgeton, New Jersey, and the two children were enjoying ice cream. But in under 15 minutes, the idyllic day would turn into a parent's worst nightmare, when Manuel came running back to the car without his older sister. A search for Dulce Maria was immediately launched, and so was the criticism against her young mother, Noema. In this week's episode, we discuss the early days of the investigation and what Dulce Maria's family went through, even as the community rallied around the missing girl.