A Texas mother wanted for the murder of her young son has been added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list.
Six-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez has been missing since November 2022 and is presumed dead. His mother, Cindy Rodriguez Singh, is wanted for his murder — and now, she’s one of the FBI’s most-wanted fugitives.
Adding Rodriguez Singh to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list allows law enforcement to raise awareness for the case, according to Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock.
“The disappearance and suspected death of Noel Alvarez is still fresh in the minds of everyone in Everman as well as throughout North Texas,” Rothrock said at a press conference.
Rodriguez Singh is now one of only 12 women to have made the list.
Police in Everman, Texas performed a welfare check on Noel in March 2023 after receiving reports he hadn’t been seen since October 2022, according to the FBI. During the welfare check, Rodriguez Singh told police Noel had been in Mexico with his biological father since November 2022.
Days later, Rodriguez Singh, her husband Arshdeep Singh and their other six children bought one-way plane tickets to India, according to the FBI. Noel was not on the flight, and Rodriguez Singh hasn’t been seen since.
Police said that Rodriguez Singh described her son as “evil, possessed, or having a demon in him” in the days leading up to his suspected death.
After Noel was discovered to be missing police investigated claims he was living with family abroad. They also looked into rumors Noel was sold to a woman at a nearby grocery store. Police did not find evidence for either of these claims, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reports.
In October 2023, Rodriguez Singh was charged with her son’s murder. A week later, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Rodriguez Singh on the charge of taking an unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
The FBI is now coordinating with local authorities in India, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reports.
This type of coordination is typical when the FBI is searching for a suspect who is believed to have left the country, according to retired FBI agent Greg Shaffer, who worked in the agency’s attaché in Hungary, Singapore and Bulgaria throughout his career.
“When suspects do flee to a foreign country, the FBI utilizes their attachés and most of the U.S. embassies nationwide,” Shaffer told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. “They work with the local authorities in trying to locate and apprehend those individuals.”
“And then they will try to put surveillance, either technical or physical surveillance, on those family members or friends,” he added.
There is a $250,000 reward for information that leads to Rodriguez Singh’s arrest.
