Everman Police say cadaver dogs "alerted" to two things Monday in the investigation into the disappearance of a 6-year-old boy, indicating for the first time the presence of human remains at the family's home.
The department issued a statement Tuesday afternoon saying multiple dogs trained to detect human remains "alerted" on an indoor/outdoor carpet and topsoil that was underneath a recently poured concrete slab, indicating that at some point in time, there were human remains in the area. What they couldn't confirm, though, was whether the remains were the missing 6-year-old boy, Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez.
"There's nothing forensic found, nothing to be able to test. I couldn't stand here and tell you today if they were Noel's remains or not, we don't know. There could be a logical explanation between, you know, ashes or cremated individuals before that may have spilled there that were the cause," said Everman Chief of Police CW Spencer. "There are certainly circumstantial pieces that could explain this however when you take in the totality of the circumstances it still puts a pretty good sight on what we're investigating here. So we're going to continue down that path."
In their statement, Everman Police said they learned early on in their investigation that the boy's stepfather disposed of a large indoor/outdoor carpet in a nearby trash bin on the night before he and his wife left for India with their six other children.
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Everman Police said they recovered that carpet and that on Monday TEXSAR cadaver dogs "alerted" to it, indicating the presence of human remains.
The carpet, police said, had been used as the base and flooring in a "make-shift" shed where it was placed directly on top of the topsoil. The shed was previously located where an unpermitted and "suspicious" concrete slab had recently been poured by the family living in the rented space.
Though police investigated the porch last week they decided to take another look at the area with cadaver dogs after the dogs "alerted" to the indoor/outdoor rug.
After obtaining a search warrant, police said the entire patio was removed and the dogs began alerting to the topsoil underneath, again indicating the presence of human remains. The soil was removed and placed in other areas around the yard and the dogs continued to alert on the topsoil while no longer alerting to the area that was under the slab where the topsoil had been removed.
"This has led investigators to believe that at some point in time, there were human remains contained within the shed, prior to the installation of the patio," police said in a statement Tuesday. "Although this search revealed minimal physical evidence, it has certainly provided additional guidance for investigators."
No further evidence or remains were reported by police.
Officials said investigators and members of TEXSAR also searched wooded areas near the family's home on Wisteria Drive Monday but didn't report any findings.
Everman Police said search crews worked for 20 hours on Monday and will be taking Tuesday to rest. Investigators, meanwhile, are spending Tuesday continuing to pinpoint future search areas where they will look for Noel while city crews cleared out debris from the backyard.
Police said the city of Everman will work with a contractor to properly permit and replace the concrete patio removed by investigators.
Charles Parsons, the man who owns the property the Singh family lived on, told NBC 5 Tuesday morning that he considered himself a close friend of theirs and said police are frustrated and are looking in the wrong spot for the missing child. When asked, Parsons told NBC 5 he thinks Noel is living in Mexico with an aunt.
Everman Chief of Police CW Spencer said previously that investigators have talked to the boy's father in Mexico several times and that he has said his son is not with him. Spencer said they have no reason to doubt the father's statements and that the father has reached out to them for updates on his son.
Meanwhile, investigators are still working to find, arrest, and extradite Cindy and Arshdeep Singh who are facing felony child abandonment charges and are believed to have fled to India with their six other children. Spencer said the FBI is working with contacts abroad to find the couple and return them to North Texas.
In a statement to NBC 5, Melinda Urbina, Public Affairs Officer with the FBI Dallas Field Office said "The FBI continues to support Everman Police in their investigation. I can't get into the specifics of our assistance and refer you to Everman Police regarding any questions on the criminal investigation."
NOEL RODRIGUEZ-ALVAREZ
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