A 6-year-old Texas boy who has not been seen since October and for whom police have been searching since late March is most likely dead, police said Thursday.
Everman Police Chief Craig Spencer said information gathered since the investigation began on March 20 leads him to believe that Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez is 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, according to WFAA-TV.
“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,” he said.
Police will continue to search for the child’s body, he said.
HEARTBREAKING UPDATE: The case of a missing 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez has now turned into a death investigation, police announced on Thursday. https://t.co/sz8i2u6IfZ
— WFAA (@wfaa) April 6, 2023
Spencer said police have been told Noel’s mother, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, said the boy was “evil, possessed, or having a demon in him.”
Police said the boy had severe health problems including needing oxygen.
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In July, the boy was seen by a speech therapist. In October, he was seen when his mother gave birth to twins. Witnesses said the boy appeared “unhealthy and malnourished,” Spencer said.
The boy’s mother had been warned that due to missed appointments, she might lose the benefits she was receiving for Noel, Spencer said.
The search for missing 6yo Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez is now officially a death investigation by Everman Police who doesn’t expect he’s alive & last seen alive by a professional in July 2022. His mom & stepdad are considered fugitives. @wfaa @FBI @abcnews pic.twitter.com/QAup2TeIyO
— Scoop Jefferson (@scoopjefferson) April 6, 2023
“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.
Rodriguez-Singh initially left the country to go to Turkey and then to India, as questions about the boy started being asked, according to KDFW-TV.
Police believe the family is still in India and are hoping to extradite them. Felony arrest warrants have been issued for Rodriguez-Singh and her husband Arshdeep Singh on charges of abandoning and endangering a child.
Spencer said Rodriguez-Sing applied for passports for all her children except Noel in November, according to WFAA.
Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez’s mother told family members she had sold the 6-year-old to an unknown woman at a grocery store, according to a search warrant acquired by FOX 4. https://t.co/h3It6W4A0z
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) April 5, 2023
Spencer said that although the boy’s mother told others the boy was with his father in Mexico or that she had sold him, police have been able to disprove those stories, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“Witnesses also told police that Noel’s mom abused the boy and withheld food and water from him because she didn’t want to change his dirty diapers,” the Star-Telegram reported.
“In one incident referenced in a search warrant, Rodriguez-Singh’s brother said that she hit Noel in the face with her car keys because the child drank water when she didn’t want him to.”
