Missing Everman boy: Area where authorities searched for Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez Saturday cleared
EVERMAN, Texas - A search for possible remains of 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez on Saturday was focused within a couple square miles surrounding the shed he lived in with eight family members.
Though the all-day effort is leading investigators back to the drawing board.
"It’s important to all of us that we find closure on this case," Everman Police Chief Craig Spencer said.
Missing Everman boy: 2 large search efforts planned for Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez this weekend
Investigators and a team from TEXSAR will be out searching two large areas near Everman Saturday in an effort to find the body of 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, who was last seen alive in October 2022.
Investigators believe Rodriguez-Alvarez is dead.
An Amber Alert was issued in March after relatives reported not seeing the boy since November 2022.
Then, his mother, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, and stepfather, Arshdeep Singh, reportedly fled to India with six of Rodriguez-Alvarez’s siblings.
"We have charges of abandonment and endangering a child, which is a 2nd degree felony in Texas, and we have charges on both of them for that," Spencer said.
Police said some sort of data led them to search an area near their home. Cell phone data is a possibility.
"We’ve been searching through just about any data that you can think of, but I can’t get into the specifics on exactly what’s led us into these areas just yet," Spencer explained.
MORE: Search for Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez Coverage
The chief of police maintained they will not randomly search areas.
"I can tell you that we’ve got data to support the locations that we’re searching [Saturday.] That’s about all I can say at the moment," he added.
The area they searched Saturday was cleared in the evening.
"That takes a toll on everybody," Spencer said.
Earlier this month, human remains detection canines alerted investigators to a shed on the property where Rodriguez-Alvarez lived, as well as a large piece of carpet police recovered that Rodriguez-Alvarez’s stepfather tossed in a dumpster before fleeing the country, according to police.
Everman missing boy: Investigators believe human remains were once in shed near where he lived
Investigators in Everman say they believe human remains were once in a shed near where missing 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez lived with his family.
No remains were found after digging up part of the backyard, but police believe remains were there at some point in time.
Rodriguez-Alvarez’s mother reportedly gave relatives conflicting stories about what happened to him.
Her brother told police she abused him.
She reportedly worshiped Santa Muerte, a patron saint who offers protection to the cartel, according to police.
Missing Everman boy's mother worshipped 'Santa Muerte', police say
FOX 4 video inside the family's converted shed recorded a glimpse of a shrine to Santa Muerte, also known as Saint Death. Some call it a dark world of worship and idolization, and it is condemned by leaders of the Catholic Church.
Everman police hope to provide updates early next week about where the search goes from here.
"That’s the goal, bring justice for Noel," Spencer said.