EVERMAN, Texas — Human remains recovered during a law enforcement excavation at a home in Everman have been positively identified as missing 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, authorities announced.
According to the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office, investigators recovered the remains this week at a residential property in the 3700 block of Wisteria Drive.
The remains were transported to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office, where dental records confirmed the identity as Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez.
Noel was reported missing in March 2023, although investigators determined he had last been seen alive in October 2022. An Amber alert was issued state wide for the young boy.
Authorities said Noel’s mother, 41-year-old Cindy Rodriguez, initially told investigators the child was living with his biological father in Mexico.
Investigators later determined that information was false.
Officials have long suspected Noel was dead, but his remains had not been located until the recent excavation.
Authorities noted Noel had developmental and physical disabilities.
Rodriguez has been charged with capital murder in connection with Noel’s disappearance.
Investigators said shortly after a welfare check launched the investigation in 2023, Rodriguez and Noel’s stepfather, Arshdeep Singh, fled to India with six other children. Noel was not with them.
After Rodriguez was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, authorities located her in India and extradited her to the United States.
She was booked into the Tarrant County Jail on Aug. 21, 2025.
Court records show Rodriguez was found incompetent to stand trial in April 2026 and ordered to a state hospital for competency restoration treatment.
Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Rose Anna Salinas and Ashlea Deener are prosecuting the case.
"This case has weighed heavily on our community from the beginning," DA Phil 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," Sorrells said. "We owe that to Noel and to the people of Tarrant County."
