Missing Everman Boy: Stepfather stole $10,000 before fleeing country, police say
EVERMAN, Texas - Everman police gave new information about the investigation into the disappearance of 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, including the methodical moves by the boy's mother and her new husband to cover up what happened to him and plan their getaway.
Police Chief Craig Spencer said through data analysis they now believe Noel disappeared on the last week of October 2022, a week after Noel's mother, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, gave birth to two twins.
Witnesses told police they saw Noel at least a week after the birth.
On Nov. 1, Rodriguez-Singh began the process of getting passports for family members, but not Noel according to police.
Rodriguez-Singh and Arshdeep Singh, her husband, flew to India with six other children after investigators began asking questions about Noel's whereabouts.
Investigators looked into the couple's financial records and found that Singh purchased the plane tickets on a credit card.
Just hours before Rodriguez-Singh and Singh left the country, a large cash deposit was made into the couple's bank account.
Police say Singh, who worked for a company that owned convenience stores, stole cash from a safe at one of their locations, likely to fund their travels.
"Arshdeep had access to the company’s safe as a part of his normal job responsibilities. Investigators learned Arshdeep first fraudulently altered the company’s cash deposit records, likely in order to prevent detection, and then removed over $10,000 in cash from the company’s safe," said Spencer. "[He] traveled to the nearest bank, deposited $8,000 of that cash into his own personal account."
Surveillance images from the bank show Singh making the deposit.
(Source: Everman Police)
Investigators believe Noel is now dead.
An AMBER Alert for Noel was issued on March 25. Investigators have since discontinued the AMBER Alert and an Endangered Missing Persons report for the boy, as the search transitioned into a death investigation.
Felony warrants for endangering and abandoning a child have been issued for both Rodriguez-Singh and Singh.
Singh now also faces a felony theft charge.
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Search crews have done a series of ground searches, clearing more than 500 acres around the home where Noel lived.
Crews recovered some items during an all-day search in Everman on Saturday, but more tests need to be done.
"It is unclear at this time whether those items are specifically related to the disappearance of Noel," said Spencer. "Nevertheless, these items have been collected by crime scene technicians and are being processed in a lab for confirmation."
The chief would not be specific about the items found, however he did say there were multiple items found in different locations.
He pointed out that the searches thus far have included wooded areas, creeks, ponds, drainage culverts, construction sites and more with specialized equipment, including drones, infrared cameras, lidar and human remains detecting dogs.
Everman police have done targeted searches for the boy in recent weeks as investigators comb through an extensive amount of data and tips.
Spencer said on Tuesday that they do not have any more ground searches planned, but they will perform searches if data gives them a reason to search an area.
The chief says at this time there is no update from federal partners regarding efforts to track down Rodriguez-Singh and Singh in India, but he adds the investigation is one month old now and still very focused on the mission to find Noel.
Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez Search Timeline
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