Texas authorities are asking for help locating a 6-year-old Hispanic boy with disabilities and health conditions, whose mother unexpectedly left the country on a flight to Turkey with her six other children after refusing to cooperate with law enforcement. authorities to find the child.
Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, a Latino boy from Everman, in the Fort Worth-Dallas area, was born prematurely and has severe disabilities, including chronic lung disease that requires medical treatment and, occasionally, oxygen assistance.
Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, age 6. Child Protective Services (CPS)
Investigators began looking into his disappearance a week ago, on March 20, when Texas Child Protective Services (CPS) received an anonymous alert that the child had not been seen since November 2022. Since then Attempts to locate him have been unsuccessful.
Authorities said they have also been unable to get help from
the mother, 37-year-old Cindy Cecilia Rodriguez-Singh.
Everman Police Chief Craig Spencer told NBC 5 DFW, a local of our sister network NBC News, on Sunday that police "do not have any physical evidence relating to Noel's missing person status."
“What I do know is that a severely disabled 6-year-old boy cannot be found and is missing, the mother has been unwilling to cooperate with investigators to simply help us ensure the child is safe and we are in desperate need of care and help from the public," he said.
A mysterious family trip that did not include a child
Police issued an Amber Alert after midnight Saturday to locate Noel.
The alert included a picture of her mother and her truck: a gray 2012 Chevy Silverado with Texas license plate
PLS-7091
and a unique drawing of Santa Muerte on the rear windshield.
On Saturday night, the van was found at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Authorities learned that the family had boarded a flight to Istanbul, Turkey.
Police said they left Thursday before the AMber Alert was issued.
According to officials,
Noel was not listed as a passenger on that flight.
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The investigators handle several hypotheses: that the family has stayed in Turkey, or that they have only stopped there on the way to India, where Rodriguez-Singh's husband is from.
Spencer says that the Amber Alert was discontinued shortly after it was sent out and Noel's case was reissued as an Endangered Missing Person Alert through the Texas DPS.
"This change does not affect the course of our investigation," Spencer said.
"We plan to continue investigating this case to the best of our abilities."
When they began to investigate, the police discovered that there were relatives who had not seen Noel or his brothers since November.
The father, deported to Mexico
The mother told police at the time that the boy was in Mexico with his father, police said.
But investigators spoke
to the biological father
, who told them that
he never had a chance to meet Noel
, since he was deported before his birth.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed the deportation to the press, according to the Star Telegram newspaper.
On March 23, investigators discovered that Noel's four siblings, ages 7 to 11, and his half-siblings, 5-month-old twins, had not been seen since the mother contacted their school in Everman to inquire about canceling their inscription.
Noel was not enrolled in the school
, according to police.
The mother had custody of all the children.
Police told Star Telegram on Sunday that they could not provide further details about the ongoing investigation, but confirmed that there have been previous investigations and actions against Rodriguez-Singh, the boy's mother.
The woman also has an extensive criminal record that includes alcohol offences.
It's unclear if authorities still believe Rodriguez-Singh was involved in the boy's disappearance, but Spencer said the woman is "unwilling to cooperate with investigators."
Request for public information
Spencer said after the press conference that investigators remain optimistic about Noel's well-being.
They have no proof that he was harmed and hope that he is with friends or a family member they have not yet found and who do not know that he is considered missing.
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However, he remembered that Noel has a lung disease for which he requires treatment, otherwise he could die.
She asked that anyone who had contact with the family, no matter when, contact the police.
“
If you've ever talked to this family, if you've ever had any interaction with this family, we want to know
,” Spencer said.
Anyone with information on Noel's whereabouts or the case can call 817-293-2923 or the 911 emergency number. "We want to know as much as we can about this family," Spencer said.
"Anything can help at this point."
