Investigators in the Dulce Maria Alavez case have started using artificial intelligence to try to develop new potential leads, as the Bridgeton, New Jersey, community marks six years since the child's disappearance.

Dulce was 5 years old when she was last seen in Bridgeton City Park on Sept. 16, 2019. Her mother Noema Alavez Perez told police she was in a car nearby while Dulce and her then 3-year-old brother played on the playground at the park. When Noema went to check on the children, Dulce was nowhere to be found.

She then contacted police. Investigators and search parties combed through the park and nearby wooded areas for days, but did not find Dulce.

Since 2019, multiple age-progressed images have been released showing what Dulce might look like now. At one point, authorities released a sketch of a possible person of interest.

One image, below, was released by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2023. Another was released in 2021.

Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae's office posted about the case on Facebook Tuesday. She said new investigators with the New Jersey State Police Special Investigations Section have been reviewing all of the evidence gathered so far. Tips have continued to come in throughout this year, and each tip is investigated, Webb-McRae said.

"This investigation is like a large puzzle. There are missing puzzle pieces. We don't know their significance or where they fit in the puzzle until the pieces are collected," Webb-McRae said.

Webb-McRae said acknowledging the anniversary of Dulce's disappearance "reminds us that a 5-year-old baby vanished from Bridgeton City Park on Sept. 16, 2019 and that the person(s) responsible for her disappearance remain at large. Dulce would be 11 years old now."

The prosecutor said anyone who was in or near the park on the day of Dulce's disappearance could have the missing puzzle piece that breaks the case open. Dulce was last seen wearing a yellow shirt with an elephant design on it, black and white pants and white shoes. She was in an area of the park off Babe Ruth Drive and behind Bridgeton High School.

A $75,000 reward is available in the case. Anyone who is a witness in the case will not have their immigration status used against them, Webb-McRae said.

In 2023, investigators announced they were using AI to help in the case of Mark Himebaugh, an 11-year-old boy from Del Haven, Cape May County, who went missing in 1991.

Investigators believe Himebaugh was abducted by a stranger after leaving home to get a closer look at a fire that was burning nearby.