EVERMAN, Texas — The search for a missing 6-year-old boy from Everman continues Saturday.
Everman police and crews will conduct ground and drone searches in two different areas after pausing their search for nearly a week to comb through new data in the investigation.
Everman police believe Noel is likely dead, and investigators are still gathering data through search warrants. On Tuesday, Everman Police Chief Craig Spencer told WFAA that investigators obtained new data that allowed them to identify additional people Noel's mother and stepfather communicated with before they flew out of the country.
Spencer said they want to be intentional with where they are looking.
"It's a significant amount of data that we've been able to collect, and we have to comb through each and every bit of that data," Spencer said. "It's like walking into a library and trying to find one word about of a million books. And that's what we're looking for here."
Saturday's search included volunteers from Texas Search and Rescue, which is a nonprofit first responder organization that deploys at the request of law enforcement, fire departments and emergency management agencies.
Texas Search and Rescue were able to bring human remains detection canines, boats and drones to help with the search.
"We don't have the resources that they have," Everman said.
Everman said one of the key resources that helped Saturday was the ability to have access to Texas Search and Rescue's drones and get a different view of the area.
"Some of the search areas are very thick and heavy with brush and mesquite," Everman said. "That oftentimes makes it very difficult for the searchers on the ground to really get deep in there and take a look."
Everman said there won't be another search on Sunday, but the search team was able to do a lot of work throughout Saturday.
"We want to make sure that we're not missing anything because in a case like this where there's already a significant lack of physical evidence, we just can't afford to miss anything on it, Everman said. "Today's going to be a win for us regardless of what comes out of this. Even if we don't locate any evidence supporting the location of Noel, we're going to know where he's not. It's going to lead our investigation in a different path moving forward."
In March, CPS questioned Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez’s mother, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, about the boy's whereabouts. Days later, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, her husband and Noel's six siblings left the country. Their last known location was New Delhi, India.
Noel’s maternal grandmother spoke out exclusively with WFAA on Tuesday about her daughter and the investigation. Cindy Rodriguez-Singh’s mother, who is Spanish-speaking and asked not to be identified or named due to safety concerns, said she wants justice for her grandson.
The grandmother said when she learned her daughter, Noel’s stepfather Arshdeep Singh and other immediate family members flew out of the country last month, she was filled with anger.
"She killed him. That's why she fled," Noel's grandmother said. “I want her brought back so she can tell us where Noel is. Where is he? What was the reason? He was a boy who didn’t deserve the bad fortune she gave him. He was an innocent child. Poor boy."
Everman police said the two areas they are searching are about 215 acres of land, and nearly 50 people would be assisting in Saturday's search. They'll be looking just north of Bluebell Drive in Everman, as well as a section of land south of Shelby Road near Village Creek.
There are additional small search areas that smaller teams of investigators were also looking into, Spencer said, but did not disclose those locations.
More Texas headlines: