A Texas man named Rudy Farias made national headlines last week when he seemingly resurfaced after reportedly disappearing on a dog walk eight years ago. Cracks began to appear in that narrative almost immediately—and now police confirm that the 25-year-old was never actually missing: He’s been living with his mother, and both of them allegedly lied to investigators.
“Rudy is safe. He is with his mother by choice,” Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said during a Thursday press conference, apparently referring to bizarre and unsubstantiated claims he was being held against his will by his own mom. “He’s a grown man.”
Farias was 17 when he was reported missing on March 6, 2015. Houston Police said on Thursday that their probe revealed he returned home the following day despite his mother’s ongoing claims that he had vanished.
While Farias was listed as a missing person, in a case that was active, he interacted with officers several times—with he and his mother giving fictitious names and birthdays each time, Houston Police Lt. Christopher Zamora said. However, the district attorney has decided not to press charges against the mother, Janie Santana, at this point.
Police also challenged an allegation that Farias was sexually abused while he was “missing.” Finner said that Farias did not mention any abuse during his Wednesday interview with police, contradicting a claim made for the TV cameras by a controversial community leader Quanell X.
“I am not going to say if he is a victim or not,” Finner said. “The investigation is still going on. We’re right at the beginning of it.”
Police say that last Thursday, Farias was “located safe” at a local church, miles from where he lived. In a statement issued through the Texas Center For Missing, Farias’ mother said her son was found “unresponsive.”
“My son Rudy is receiving the care he needs to overcome his trauma, but at this time, he is nonverbal and not able to communicate with us,” Santana said.
Questions began to emerge when neighbors told media outlets that Farias had been living with Santana for years. Kisha Ross, a delivery driver who lives two doors down from Santana, told NBC that Farias used to come over frequently to socialize with her son, cousin, and daughter.
“That boy hasn’t been missing for no eight years,” Ross said, adding that Farias was known as “Doph” to her and her family. “That boy comes to my house. He’s been in my living room.”
The allegations that Farias may have not been missing spurred a police investigation, which included interviews with Santana and her son at the hospital on Wednesday morning.
Quanell X told The Daily Beast that Santana asked him to join the case after she had been “receiving death threats.” He said he was present for Santana and Farias’ interviews and claimed to have heard harrowing allegations in the latter’s conversation with the police.
“All I know is that boy that has been psychologically traumatized,” Quanell added. “I can’t imagine what he has gone through these last eight years.”
