Everman Police Chief Craig Spencer speaks to the press about the investigation into the alleged death of Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, inset, April 10, 2023. (Everman Police Department; Screen capture via CBS News)
The mother of a long-lost 6-year-old boy with special needs paid last month for a new concrete patio to be poured into the backyard of a house she did not own, according to the police. A few weeks later, she and her family fled the country for India. On Tuesday, cadaver dogs reported the presence of human remains directly under this patio.
Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, who suffers from a multitude of ailments, has not been seen in months, according to the Everman Police Department. When first contacted by law enforcement, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh said her son had been living with his biological father in Mexico since November 2022. Detectives later learned that was not TRUE.
Late last week, Everman Police Chief Craig Spencer said recent events had led authorities to the “very unfortunate, unimaginable and devastating conclusion that Noel is likely deceased” and noted that the search for the boy had moved on to a “death investigation”.
New leads in the case led investigators to the recently constructed patio, which Everman police called “unlicensed and suspicious.”
Early in the investigation, police learned that the boy’s stepfather, Arshdeep Singh, ‘threw a large indoor/outdoor rug’ into a dumpster near the residence they shared with landlord Charles Parson , wrote the police in a press release on Tuesday evening. This rug was thrown the day before the Singh family boarded the Turkish Airways flight that took them out of the country.
On Monday, while working with TEXSAR – a professionally trained volunteer rescue organization that deploys across the Lone Star State for search and rescue operations – several dogs trained to detect human remains were alerted by the carpet, police said.
“Investigators learned that this mat was previously used as the base and flooring (directly above ground) for a ‘makeshift’ shed that had previously been built where the current backyard patio is located. “, said the police. “Investigators have obtained a search warrant to remove the entire patio.”
Crews spent around 20 hours meticulously removing the patio, piece by piece, and cross-sections of earth beneath the structure. Work began at 3 p.m. Central Standard Time Monday, police said.
The dogs alerted the police to something in the ground directly under the concrete but nothing lower.
Investigators believe human remains were stored inside the makeshift shed before the patio was installed.
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“While this search revealed minimal physical evidence, it certainly provided additional insights,” police said.
The property owned by Parson was shared with the Singh family, police said. The owner is not considered a suspect or person of interest in the case and has been cooperating with law enforcement from the start, Spencer said.
The family was invited to live on the property after Parson saw Rodriguez-Singh sleeping in his car on his street one day nearly 10 years ago. The large family of two adults and, more recently, seven children stayed in two bedrooms inside the main house and in a large converted purple shed in the back yard, which is not the shed mentioned in the Tuesday’s press release.
“City crews will work today to clear debris from the residence’s backyard,” police said. “The City will then work with a registered contractor to repair/replace the patio with proper permits and plans.”
The boy was confirmed alive in October 2022 when he was seen in hospital where his twin sisters had just been born.
“Before the twins were born, Cindy had made several statements about Noel, calling him evil, possessed, or having a demon in him,” Spencer said. “Cindy believed Noel was going to hurt the newborn twins.”
Persistent rumors plagued the case that Rodriguez-Alvarez had been sold as a victim of human trafficking. Law enforcement believes this was one of many stories Rodriguez-Singh told as a form of misdirection until she could obtain the necessary documents to flee with her surviving children.
In late March, a warrant was issued for the mother’s misdemeanor arrest. She and the boy’s stepfather have since been charged with abandoning and endangering a child. Authorities are currently working to extradite the couple to the United States.
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