FBI and Sheriff’s Crews Dig Up Backyard of Everman Home for Third Day in Search for Missing 6-Year-Old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, Whose Mother Faces Capital Murder Charges
Federal agents and Tarrant County investigators have spent three consecutive days excavating the backyard of a home in Everman in what authorities describe as the next step in one of North Texas’ most heartbreaking missing child cases, the disappearance of 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, who has not been seen since November 2022.
The search, now in its third day, has drawn aerial news cameras, heavy equipment including backhoes and excavators, and more than a dozen law enforcement crews working under canopies in the backyard of the home in the 3700 block of Wisteria Drive, the former residence of Noel’s family. Investigators have concentrated their digging around an area where a concrete slab once stood, and aerial footage showed crews sifting through dirt as the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office remained on standby at the scene. Yellow crime scene tape surrounds the property. The family currently living in the home has been relocated to a hotel since Monday.
Who Is Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez
Noel was a 6-year-old boy described by neighbors as kind, loving and full of life. He was autistic and had disabilities. He was last seen alive in November 2022, living in the Everman home on Wisteria Drive with his mother Cindy Rodriguez Singh, her husband and his six siblings.
No one reported him missing for months. It was not until March 2023 that an extended family member called police and Child Protective Services to check on the boy. When officers arrived at the home, Noel was not there. His mother told investigators he was living with his biological father in Mexico. Two days later, Rodriguez Singh, her husband and Noel’s six siblings boarded a flight to India. Noel was not on that plane.
An Amber Alert was issued. The FBI placed Cindy Rodriguez Singh on its Most Wanted list. She was located and arrested in India in August 2023 and returned to Tarrant County, where she was indicted on a capital murder charge in September of that year.
Authorities have long believed Noel is dead. His body has never been found.
Where the Case Stands Today
In April 2026, a Tarrant County judge ruled that Cindy Rodriguez Singh is incompetent to stand trial. She was transferred to a state psychiatric hospital, where she remains. Her case cannot proceed until she is restored to competency, a process that can take months or years with no guarantee of resolution.
Despite that legal pause, investigators have not stopped looking for Noel. The current search at the Wisteria Drive property is a joint operation between the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI. Everman Police Chief Al Brooks said no new tips or evidence specifically prompted the return to the location. “It’s just part of the investigative process,” Brooks said. “We’re not going to leave any stone unturned. It’s that critical, that important, that we maintain the integrity of this whole circumstance for the benefit and for the justice we are seeking for Noel.”
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office confirmed in a statement that the search for Noel continues.
The Neighborhood Reacts
For the people who live near Wisteria Drive, watching investigators return with excavators and FBI agents has stirred a complicated mix of emotions. “It’s reliving a nightmare for us, something that’s very heart-wrenching,” Everman Police Chief Brooks said. “But we focus on Noel. We focus on what he deserves. He deserves justice.”
Neighbor Porschia Inocente summed up the feeling of many: “Nothing is going to impress me until they find him.” Others remembered the boy with tenderness. “He was a kid. He had all his future in front of him,” said neighbor Jazmine Ramirez. A community member who works in therapy for children with autism said the case hits especially hard. “He didn’t deserve any of this. He’s innocent. I just hope they can find closure for him.”
The search is expected to continue. No timeline has been given for how long crews will remain at the property. Investigators have not said whether any evidence has been recovered during the current dig.