EVERMAN, Texas — The case of a missing North Texas boy has now turned into a death investigation, police announced on Thursday.
Police in Everman, Texas, have been investigating 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez's disappearance since March 20, 2023.
During a news conference on Thursday, April 6, Everman Police Chief Craig Spencer said the boy is no longer considered an endangered missing person, and that investigators have determined that he is likely dead.
"I'm incredibly saddened to share with you today that the search for Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez is now officially a death investigation," Spencer said. "Based on the totality of the circumstances, along with the evidence available to us at this time, it has led to a very unfortunate, unimaginable and devastating conclusion that Noel is likely deceased."
While Spencer did not outline specifically what made the department come to that conclusion, he said the investigation revealed that Noel's mother, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, was reported to be abusive toward the child.
Spencer said police received information that Rodriguez-Singh would describe Noel as "evil, possessed, or having a demon in him." Police said the boy has severe health problems and, at times, requires oxygen to breathe.
Authorities are now working to determine possible locations to search for Noel and are conducting recovery operations, according to Spencer.
What we know about the investigation
Police said they've been investigating the case since March 20, 2023, after they received a tip from Child Protective Services (CPS).
Noel, his mother, his stepfather and six siblings lived in a dwelling in the backyard of a home, which is where the child was reportedly last seen.
Some family members told authorities they hadn't seen Noel since November 2022, police said.
Days after conducting a welfare check at the dwelling, police learned that the child's mother Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, his stepfather and his siblings boarded a flight to Turkey, and then possibly to India on March 23. Noel was not on the flight, according to police.
An Amber Alert was issued on March 25 for Noel. A day later, the alert was changed to an endangered missing persons report.
During the news conference on Thursday, April 6, Chief Spencer said that Noel was last seen by a medical professional on July 21, 2022, for speech therapy. The chief said several medical appointments were missed around this time.
Spencer said a warning letter had been sent to Rodriguez-Singh from the Department of State Health Services regarding the benefits she was receiving for Noel.
"Investigators learned that near this timeline, Cindy even asked an acquaintance of hers if she could borrow her son for a doctor's appointment so that she could keep the benefits stating that Noel had COVID," Spencer said in the news conference.
Spencer said Noel was present at the time Rodriguez-Singh gave birth to twin girls in October 2022. According to the chief, witnesses stated Noel appeared to be "unhealthy and malnourished."
Along with describing the 6-year-old as "evil," interviews revealed that Rodriguez-Singh also said she believed Noel was going to harm her newborn twins, Spencer said.
Police learned that Rodriguez-Singh was known by relatives to be "abusive and neglectful" to the 6-year-old boy. Relatives stated that she would withhold food and water from Noel because she didn't want to clean his diapers.
According to a warrant, Rodriguez-Singh's brother stated he witnessed her strike Noel with her car keys after learning he was given water.
Spencer said that, in November 2022, the mother applied for passports for herself and all the children except for Noel.
Spencer said there are active warrants out for Rodriguez-Singh and the stepfather, Arshdeep Singh, for abandoning and endangering a child, a second-degree felony.
"We want these fugitives arrested and extradited back to the U.S. so that we can seek answers for the disappearance of Noel," Spencer said.
Disproving the mother's stories
Through the investigation, police said Rodriguez-Singh had told different stories to both authorities and relatives regarding Noel's disappearance.
During the initial welfare check on March 20, Rodriguez-Singh told police that that the child was with his biological father in Mexico.
CPS investigators told police on March 23 that they tracked down the boy's father, who said he had been deported to Mexico prior to Noel's birth. He stated he had never met Noel.
Police said CPS investigators determined the father's statements to be true.
In a search warrant obtained by WFAA, Rodriguez-Singh's brother stated to investigators that she told their mother that she sold Noel to an unknown female at a Fiesta Mart.
The brother also stated Rodriguez-Singh said that the unknown female should not be contacted over fears that Noel's mother could be reported to CPS, the warrant stated.
In the April 6 update, Chief Spencer said police have not found any evidence that Noel was sold or trafficked.
Spencer said investigators also disproved stories that the child was given to other family members, including the boy's aunt in Mexico.
"Although the course of this investigation has changed, our commitment to Noel has not," Spencer said. "We will continue to fight for Noel."