New details have emerged in the case of missing 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez from Everman, Texas.
The fast-developing story has police scrambling to dismiss rumors of trafficking and to make the public aware that the case has been converted from a missing persons case to a death investigation.
Police have been searching for Rodriguez-Alvarez since March. Officials issued an Amber Alert for 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez on March 25.
Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez’s mother, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, who has an extensive criminal history involving alcohol-related offenses and reportedly had custody over her son, allegedly provided police with a story that was disproven later in the investigation.
When law enforcement officers previously conducted a wellness check on the family home, the mother apparently told officers that Noel had been living in Mexico with his biological father since November 2022.
However, police then discovered that the father in Mexico had never met his son, as he had been deported before the child’s birth.
Officials were unsuccessful in contacting the mother again and were unable to determine if Rodriguez-Alvarez was in the custody of another family member, prompting the Amber Alert and a subsequent arrest warrant for Rodriguez-Singh to be issued.
Shortly after, the initial Amber Alert was discontinued when it was discovered that the missing child’s entire family had flown to Istanbul, Turkey, and abandoned their vehicle at the airport.
Subsequent reporting noted that the Department of Homeland Security located the family in India, the native country of Cindy Rodriguez-Singh’s husband, Arshdeep Singh, and the final destination for the pair’s international flight.
According to Everman Police, the couple was charged with abandoning or endangering a child two days prior to their flight.
The charges allow the department to work with federal law enforcement to extradite the pair back to the United States.
Now, Everman Police are working to dismiss rumors that the child was sold.
The Everman Police Chief stated that there were rumors the child had been sold in a Fiesta Mart near the family’s home, but there was no evidence to support the theory.
There is evidence to suggest that the mother was working to abandon the child, however.
Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez suffered from chronic lung disease, among other health issues.
According to Everman Police Chief Craig Spencer, Rodriguez-Singh made statements to others that her child was a “demon” or “possessed,” per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
She also allegedly asked to borrow another family’s child for a medical appointment in order to secure more government benefits allocated for Noel.
The evidence gathered by multiple searches for the child eventually led Chief Spencer to launch a death investigation.
“I’m incredibly saddened to share with you today that the search for Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez is now officially a death investigation. That means Noel will no longer be considered an endangered missing person.”
A vigil for Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez is being hosted at the Everman Civic Center on April 10 at 8:30 p.m.