Police in Everman, Texas, say human remains have been found at the former home of missing 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, three years after the disabled boy was last seen.
Authorities announced Thursday that the remains were discovered during a court-authorized search this week at the Wisteria Drive property where Noel once lived with his family.
Investigators from Everman police, the FBI, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, and the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office had spent several days excavating the yard using heavy equipment and sifting dirt under large canopies, according to People.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office has taken custody of the remains and is conducting forensic testing to determine the identity and cause of death.
Everman Police Chief Al Brooks said the discovery is a "significant development" in a case that has haunted the small North Texas city since 2022.
He emphasized that no official identification has been made and that investigators will wait for the medical examiner's findings before drawing conclusions about whether the remains belong to Noel.
Prosecutors described the evidence found at the scene as crucial to the ongoing capital murder investigation connected to the child's disappearance.
Noel was last seen in the fall of 2022 and was not reported missing until March 2023, when concerned relatives contacted authorities. By that time, investigators say, his mother and stepfather had left the United States for India with Noel's siblings, leaving him behind.
Police later stated they believed Noel was dead and reclassified the case from a missing-persons investigation to a death investigation in April 2023, NBC News reported.
Previous searches of the same property had already raised suspicions that Noel's remains might once have been concealed there. In 2023, investigators reported evidence indicating human remains had been in a shed at the family's home prior to the installation of a concrete patio, though no body was recovered at that time.
The latest search focused on the backyard area and was prompted by new information developed during the long-running investigation.
Federal and local authorities have pursued Noel's case for more than three years, tracking leads across state and national lines.
His mother, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, has faced charges in connection with Noel's presumed death and was previously added to the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list before being arrested nearly three years after he vanished.
Officials say they hope the forensic results from the newly recovered remains will finally clarify what happened to Noel and provide answers for his relatives and the Everman community, as per USNN.
