EVERMAN (WBAP/KLIF News ) – A Tarrant County grand jury has indicted the mother of an Everman child whose been missing for almost a year on several charges, including capital murder.
6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez was last seen alive on October of last year but his family didn’t report him missing until March 2023. An Amber Alert was issued for him on March 25.
Investigators now believe the boy is dead.
Noel’s mother, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, and stepfather, Arshdeep Singh, fled with six of Noel’s siblings on a plane to Turkey then to India back in March as the search for the child intensified.
In a press conference on Monday, Everman Police Chief Craig Spencer said despite the charges against Rodriguez-Singh, they’ll continue to search for little Noel.
“Every new tip or lead that comes in we will continue to follow up and we will continue to search…but the reality is we may never end up finding a body,” he said.
Before the latest indictment, police had obtained arrest warrants for Rodriguez-Singh and Singh on charges of abandoning or endangering a child.
In addition to the capital murder charge, Rodriguez-Singh is also charged with two counts of injury to a child and one count of abandoning without the intent to return.
Chief Spencer said the development clears a hurdle in a case that’s far from over.
“Although this is a tremendous milestone towards justice in this case. Make no mistake, we will continue to pursue justice and we will continue to search for Noel,” he said. Spencer praised his team, law enforcement agencies and their federal partners for their work to find Noel.
Noel and his family had been living in a shed behind the home of a family friend at the time of his disappearance.
Chief Spencer said Rodriguez-Singh had showed a past history of abuse and neglect toward Noel. He also mentioned Noel’s mother told others she believed the child was possessed by a demon.
Investigators conducted several searches for Noel but his body was never found.
Everman Mayor Ray Richardson also spoke at the press conference and said Noel’s disappearance weighs heavily on the community.
“Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask about Noel…or that boy from Everman. No child should have to go through the abuse and neglect that Noel went through. Now that the murder warrant has been issued we will hopefully be able to get the answers to many unanswered questions that surround this case,” he said.
Authorities believe Rodriguez-Singh, her husband and six children are in India. The FBI, Homeland Security and U.S. Marshals are expected to join the search to find and return Rodriguez-Singh and her husband back to the United States.
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