What we know about the search for missing 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez

Authorities continue to share new details about the search for 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, who has been missing for months, in Everman, a city of about 6,000 people a little more than 30 miles southwest of Dallas.

Police were tipped off to the boy’s disappearance March 20 when Child Protective Investigations requested a welfare check for him at his residence, after receiving a report that he had not been seen in months. Authorities issued an Amber Alert five days later.

In a news conference Thursday, Everman police Chief Craig Spencer said police believe the boy, who has not yet been found, is likely dead.

Authorities turned over an Everman home Monday in the 3700 block of Wisteria Drive, where Noel lived with his family. Police said a new search of the patio in the backyard has led them to believe there were once human remains contained within a shed at the property.

Investigators are continuing to search for the boy. People gathered at the Everman Civic Center Monday night at a candlelight vigil for Noel.

Police believe his last known appearance was mid- to late-October.

When did the search for Noel begin?

According to a search-warrant affidavit, authorities responded to a welfare check at the Everman home and spoke with Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, Noel’s mother, on March 20. Police said Rodriguez-Singh told officers that Noel was living with his biological father in Mexico and had been there since November.

Spencer said Rodriguez-Singh told other varying stories to people about the disappearance of Noel, including that he was with his aunt in Mexico or that she had sold him to another woman at a grocery store parking lot. Police have disproved each of these stories, according to Spencer.

Authorities on March 25 issued an Amber Alert, five days after the welfare check. The alert was discontinued and replaced with an Endangered Missing Persons Alert after police discovered Noel’s family had boarded a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul. Police confirmed Noel was not on the flight, and that the final destination for their flight was India — stepfather Arshdeep Singh’s native country.

Who did Noel live with in Everman?

In Everman, Noel lived with his mother, stepfather, four biological siblings and twin half-siblings, police said. Noel’s biological father lives in Mexico and told police he was deported before the boy was born and has never seen him, according to an affidavit.

The property owner of the home said Rodriguez-Singh and Singh had lived there for several years, according to an affidavit.

Where have police searched for Noel?

In late March, authorities found a gray 2012 Chevy Silverado they believed the family was traveling in and dug up part of a concrete patio at the Everman home, which police said had been recently poured and paid for by Rodriguez-Singh. They found no evidence of Noel’s whereabouts.

On Thursday, Spencer said organized searches for the boy had already begun and are expected to continue in the upcoming days. He said the primary locations searched had been around Everman.

The latest search came Monday when investigators searched wooded areas east and north of the home and then obtained a search warrant to remove the entire concrete patio of the property.

Canines trained to find human remains alerted investigators to a carpet that served as the flooring to a shed in the backyard of the patio. As they removed the concrete from the patio, multiple canines alerted police to the topsoil underneath it, leading investigators to believe that there were human remains within the shed before the patio was installed, police said.

Spencer said police believe the remains seeped into the ground prior to the concrete patio being poured.

When was Noel last seen?

Police believe Noel was last seen mid- to late-October. Spencer said Noel, who is diagnosed with speech delay, was last seen by a professional for speech therapy July 21.

He missed several other appointments during this time, Spencer said. Authorities confirmed through interviews that Noel was alive in early October when Rodriguez-Singh gave birth to twins. Spencer said he was also seen in mid-October after they left the hospital.

On Nov. 2, police said Rodriguez-Singh applied for passports for her six children but not Noel.

The property owner of the home told police he had not seen Noel since Thanksgiving Day.

What do we know about Noel?

At a candlelight vigil Monday in Everman, family members said the boy was always smiling, happy and joyful — and was loved by his family. They said they fought for Noel to be taken care of and to live in a good home.

Relatives have told police that Rodriguez-Singh abused Noel. Witnesses told authorities that Rodriguez-Singh referred to Noel as “evil, possessed or having a demon in him” and that she believed he was going to harm the newborns.

According to an affidavit, the boy is diagnosed with several illnesses, including speech delay, esotropia (when eyes turn inward toward the nose) in both eyes and chronic lung disease, among others.

Patricia Paris, 59, who said she fostered Noel for 15 months starting when he was 4, said he enjoyed playing with cars and trucks and loved “Paw Patrol” and “Spider-Man.”

Where is Noel’s family?

Police believe Rodriguez-Singh, Singh and her other six children are in India. Spencer said police have obtained arrest warrants for Rodriguez-Singh and Singh on felony charges of abandoning or endangering a child.

Police are working with federal authorities to have them extradited back to the U.S., according to Spencer.

Who is assisting with the search?

Dozens of agencies, ranging from law enforcement to nonprofits, are assisting in the search for Noel. Federal agencies such as the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are involved, along with law enforcement in Mexico.

In addition, several North Texas police and sheriff departments as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers, and Texas Department of Family and Protective Services are helping in the search.

“The biggest and best thing that we can do to help as a community right now is what we’re doing right this second,” Spencer said at the vigil. “And that is to come together in prayer.”