The latest — and grimmest — news in the weeks-long search for Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez came Tuesday, when investigators said they believe human remains were once contained in a shed on the Everman property where the missing 6-year-old lived.

Just days after Noel was reported missing last month, his mother, 37-year-old Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, and stepfather, Arshdeep Singh, fled the country with four of Noel’s biological siblings and two half-siblings.

Their flight was a one-way trip to India with a layover in Turkey. Noel was not listed as a passenger, and officials now believe he is dead.

Everman police Chief Craig Spencer said the department obtained arrest warrants for Rodriguez-Singh and Singh on charges of abandoning or endangering a child. The second-degree felony is punishable by no less than two years in prison.

Police are working with federal authorities to extradite them back to the U.S. from India, Singh’s native country, according to Spencer.

The U.S. has a treaty with India, which was signed in 1997. It states an offense is extraditable in either nation if it is punishable by “deprivation of liberty, including imprisonment,” for at least one year.

If the offense is determined to be extraditable, prosecutors work with the Department of Justice to prepare an extradition request.

“This is really a technically diplomatic and not a law-enforcement process,” said Joshua Dratel, a New York-based criminal defense attorney with experience in international extradition cases.

Dratel noted that federal offenses or offenses that affect the relationship between the two countries tend to receive more consideration than other requests. Additionally, he said, as a matter of “practicality,” both nations might divert more resources to cases with more severe charges, such as murder, over charges of abandoning or endangering a child.

Source: The Dallas Morning News