Texas six-year-old boy Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez was last seen alive in October 2022. Years later, Texas officials found human remains that were positively identified as Noel’s during a law enforcement excavation at a residential property in Everman, a suburban city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
The remains were recovered during a coordinated investigative excavation at a home Noel once lived in on the 3700 block of Wisteria Drive, according to a news release from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office on Friday, May 15. They were transported to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, where dental records confirmed they belonged to Noel.
Noel was reported missing in March 2023, months after he was last seen alive in October 2022, according to officials. At the time of his disappearance, investigators were falsely told that Noel was living with his biological father in Mexico. Noel was born with developmental and physical disabilities. Authorities have long believed he was deceased, but his remains had not been located until now.
His disappearance led to a capital murder charge against his mother, Cindy Rodriguez. 41. During the investigation, authorities learned that Rodriguez and Noel’s stepfather, Arshdeep Singh, fled to India with six of her other children. However, Noel was not with them.
Rodriguez was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and was later located in India. She was extradited to the United States and booked into the Tarrant County Jail on August 21, 2025. In April 2026, she was found incompetent to stand trial and was ordered to a state hospital for competency restoration.
People reported that relatives believed Rodriguez to be “abusive and neglectful to Noel.” Rodriguez allegedly called Noel “possessed” and claimed he had a “demon” inside him that would hurt her twins, according to People.
Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells reaffirmed his office’s commitment to pursuing justice.
“This case has weighed heavily on our community from the beginning,” Sorrells said. “Noel was a child whose life mattered. He deserved protection, care, and love. Instead, he became the victim of an unthinkable crime. Our responsibility is to seek justice for Noel and to hold Cindy Rodriguez fully accountable under the law. We owe that to Noel and to the people of Tarrant County.”
Tarrant County Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Rose Anna Salinas and Ashlea Deener are prosecuting the case.