Texas investigators said Tuesday that they believe human remains were once in a backyard shed where a 6-year-old special needs boy — now missing and presumed dead — lived with his family.

Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez’s family boarded a plane and flew to India last month after investigators began seeking information about the boy, whose extended family members said they hadn’t seen him since October, as CrimeOnline has reported. Noel was not on the that flight.

Police announced earlier this month that they considered the search for Noel to be a death investigation instead of a missing persons case.

Investigators returned this week to the home in Everman where Noel and his immediate family — mother Cindy Rodriguez Singh, stepfather Arshdeep Singh, and six siblings — lived for a time, first in the main house on the property and later in what detectives said was a “make-shift” shed in the backyard.

Everman Police said in a news release that they had retrieved “a large indoor/outdoor carpet” that Arshdeep Singh had disposed of in a nearby dumpster on the night before the family left the country.

“Yesterday, with the assistance of TEXSAR (Texas Search and Rescue), multiple Human Remains Detection Canines alerted to this carpet,” police said.

The carpet had been used as the “base and flooring (directly on top of the ground)” to the shed where the family lived. The shed had been torn down and replaced by an “unpermitted and suspicious” concrete patio. After obtaining a search warrant, crews began removing the patio on Monday.

Detectives said the canines again alerted to the topsoil beneath the patio but stopped alerting as crews dug deeper into the ground.

“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. “Although this search revealed minimal physical evidence, it has certainly provided additional guidance for investigators.”

The department said city crews will clear debris from the backyard of the home and then provide a licensed contractor to replace the patio with permits in place.

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[Featured image: Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez/Everman Police Department]