Authorities in New Jersey have admitted to following leads given by psychic mediums in the desperate search for 5-year-old Dulce Alavez, who vanished without a trace in September.

As NJ.com reports, Bridgeton Police Chief Michael Gaimari said in a Facebook post that police have followed up on tips from psychics, but added that they have only done so when the information given was believed to have a “slight possible connection” to the investigation.

Dulce was with her mother, brother, and her mother’s younger sister at Bridgeton City Park on September 16 when her mother, who was sitting in her car near an area where Dulce and her brother were playing, when she lost sight of Dulce. Intensive searches of the park and surrounding areas produced no sign of the little girl, and police do not appear to have any significant leads in the case nearly five months later.

Shortly after she vanished, authorities released a sketch of a man who they believe may have information about Dulce’s disappearance, as a witness, believed to be a juvenile, reported seeing a man in the area at the time Dulce disappeared. Police have said the man is not a person of interest in the disappearance, and that they only wish to speak to him.

According to NJ.com, the police chief’s comments came after a group of volunteers searched an area earlier this month that had been identified by a psychic.

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