Police Confirm Rudy Farias Was Never Missing, Have Not Charged Mother for Alleged Abuse

Houston man Rudolph “Rudy” Farias IV, 25, was found alive last week after being missing for eight years. While some deem the case “a miracle,” neighbors are questioning the facts — and whether Farias was ever really missing.

Activist Quanell X sounded the alarms even further yesterday, telling ABC13 that Farias was never missing and his mother didn’t allow him to leave the house. He said Farias told him he was “living like a slave” and that his mother “severely abused him.”

Meanwhile, Houston Police Department’s press conference today confirmed Farias came home just one day after being reported missing on March 6, 2015. Still, countless questions about the case remain.

The Texas Center for the Missing reported on Twitter on Sunday that Farias was found alive after he went missing at 17 years old in 2015.

The organization wrote, “After eight long years, Rudy has been located safe.” They also urged people to pray for Farias and his loved ones: “Please continue to keep his family in your prayers as Rudy recovers in the hospital.”

However, as reported by ABC13, Farias’ mother’s neighbors say they often hang out with him. Nearby neighbor Kisha Ross told the outlet, “[Farias] used to come in my garage, chill with my cousin, son, and daughter.”

“That boy has never been missing.”

Farias went missing at 17 years old while walking his dogs in northwest Houston

On March 6, 2015, Rudy Farias went missing at 17 while walking his two dogs in northwest Houston at around 6:30 PM.

As per ABC13, authorities reported Farias was diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety.

Meanwhile, Texas EquuSearch, a non-profit involved in Farias’ search, said he once attempted suicide.

The organization wrote on its website in 2015, “[Farias] has attempted suicide in the past. It is possible he is disoriented, as he has not been taking his medication.”

“Rudy is also asthmatic but is not in possession of his inhaler,” they explained. “According to his mother he is very wary around strangers.”

The search for Farias was suspended four days after he went missing, resumed on March 12 and was “temporarily suspended” again the next day. Searchers plowed through “rain soaked fields and roads” hoping to find the teen.

Still, some never gave up. Director of Texas EquuSearch, Tim Miller, explained to Click 2 Houston, “I can’t even tell you how many times we searched and how many leads and tips came in and they just kind of faded away.”

“Now all of a sudden, this,” he described. Miller also recalled, “In the beginning, we met with the family and detectives out there and we found a backpack.”

Adding, “We talked to someone with a catering truck that said they saw him, then there were different possible sightings in different places.” Still, their efforts seemed useless until the “miracle” that occurred this week.

“How did this happen? We believe in miracles and this certainly was a miracle,” Miller assured.

The man’s mother said they found him in “bad shape” with “cuts” and “bruises” on his body

Farias’ mother explained to ABC13 that a bystander found her son “unresponsive” outside a southeast Houston church and called 911.

Meanwhile, she told Click 2 Houston that good samaritans found her son and authorities confirmed his identity. Still, she described Farias as being in “bad shape” with injuries.

Journalist Brooke Taylor spoke to the mother about finding her son. As per the report, the mother said he was found with “cuts,” “bruises,” and “blood” in his hair. She also believes these injuries are “obvious” signs that Farias was “badly abused and beaten.”

Loved ones said Farias recovering in the hospital. His mother also shared that the 25-year-old only says a “few words” at a time before going into fetal position.

After Farias was found, people immediately questioned his whereabouts for the last eight years.

Miller described the mystery and confusion surrounding the case: “I think now there’s a lot of questions. There’s a lot to investigate to kind of see what happened, where it happened, how it happened.”

Now, there are even more questions. Was Farias abducted and “badly abused” as his mother alleges? Or was he living with his mother all along— and as per activist Quanell X’s accusation— abused by her?

Houston police confirmed the 25-year-old was never missing, but have not charged his mother

In a press conference held today, the Houston Police Department confirmed Farias was never missing.

Lieutenant Zamora from the Missing Persons Unit explained, “After investigators talked with [Farias] yesterday, it was discovered that Rudy returned home the following day on March 8, 2015.”

“The mother Janie [Santana] continued to deceive police by remaining adamant that Rudy was still missing. She alleged her nephew was the person friends and family were seen coming and going. However, we disputed that.”

Authorities also said that Farias and Santana had some run-ins with police officers, and gave “fictitious names” to them.

However, authorities have not press charges in connection to the case. Lieutenant Zamora made clear, “Currently the District Attorney has declined any charges at this time for making fictitious reports or failure to I.D.”

“Investigators have reached out to Adult Protective Services, HPD Victims Services has reached out, we’ve also connected Rudy with Victim Services to ensure he has a method to recover.”

Police called Farias a “potential victim,” but still confirmed the 25-year-old is currently “with his mother by choice.”

“Rudy is safe,” authorities stated. However, as per the Houston Police Department, the investigation is still underway.

Authorities responded to activist Quanell X’s allegations about Farias’ mother “severely abusing him”

Police also responded to reporters’ questions about activist Quanell X’s shocking statements yesterday, alleging Farias had told him about his mother’s abuse.

Quanell X spoke to reporters yesterday outside the hotel where investigators spoke to Farias. The activist told Fox 26 that he was at the site with Farias and his mother “for a few hours,” alleging that Santana had asked him to be there.

“I spent about an hour and 20 minutes one-on-one with Rudy and with one of the detectives. I heard horrific things from that young man and I didn’t want him to see me shedding tears,” he recalled.

X explained, “No child should ever be treated like that by his own mother. This young man said when he initially ran away, he came back two days later.”

“She told him that he had to hide, that he was going to get in trouble, and that they were going to arrest him for running away,” he said. “[She said] he had to continue hiding.”

“Whenever the investigators would come, she would hide him in the house.”

The activist said Farias finally ran away because he was “tired of her not respecting his boundaries” and “wanted his own life.” He said Farias exact words were, “I was tired of living like a slave,” alleging that Farias would actually work his mother’s job for her.

X also told Farias said his mother would “make him sleep in the bed with her” and act like “her husband,” “bathe her”. He also alleged Farias’ mother would provide drugs to him.

However, when reporters asked HPD about these shocking allegations, police responded: “Based on Rudy’s interview, there were no reports of sexual abuse… if there is a disclosure made, we will continue to investigate.”

“Currently, the investigation is active.”

Farias’ neighbors were the first to report that he was never missing

Two days before police confirmed the shocking news, Farias’ mother’s neighbors claimed he has “never been missing.”

Kisha Ross, who lives on the same street as Farias’ mother, told ABC13 that he would hang out with her family.

Still, she says Farias sometimes preferred to be alone. “Sometimes he would go to the park by himself.”

Neighbors spoke to the outlet about Farias, explaining, “That boy ain’t been missing.”

As another neighbor put it, “I’m confused right now, like, what’s going on?”

Neighbors told ABC13 that they have spoken to Farias in the last five months and even texted him. Others say they have seen the man living nearby “for years.”

Something else that adds up with the neighbors’ story? Farias speaking about his brother, who passed away in a motorcycle accident.

As a neighbor described, “He said he lost a brother in a motorcycle accident.”

“I know when he was thinking about his brother, he wouldn’t come hang out,” she explained. “He would go sit in the back of the woods by himself.”

In April 2015, the Farias family’s private investigator Brenda Paradise told NBC, “[Rudy Farias has] just had so much thrown at him the past few years.”

The outlet talked about how he had lost his older brother to a tragic motorcycle accident in 2011.

“He watched his best friend die right in front of him. His brother was his best friend in the world,” Paradise said. “He’s just gone through so much more than anyone his age ever should.”

Farias mother’s response to the neighbors’ accusations? She told ABC13 that they were confusing him for her nephew. However, after seeing the nephew’s photo, neighbors asserted that man was not Farias.

The 25-year-old’s family members express concern about police not charging the mother

As reported by KHOU 11, two of Farias’ aunts, Santana’s own sisters, have expressed concerns about the case so far.

One sister called Farias’ mother a “liar.”

The family member alleged, “I’m not quite sure, but I’m gonna have to say [Santana] knows a lot of people in HPD and that’s why her freaking a** has been covered up.”

By that, Farias’ aunt seemed to be pointing at how Santana was married to a Houston police officer who reportedly committed suicide in 2014.

“Why in the freaking world did they let her go?” the aunt asked.

Angrily, the 25-year-old’s aunt questioned why the mother was not charged. “For falsifying that he had been kidnapped, which was not true, that he had been taken to Mexico, that he had been spotted in other states,” she listed.

“She had people all over the United States looking for him.”

Another added that Santana had reportedly set up a GoFundMe related to Farias’ alleged disappearance.

As Houston Police Department Chief Troy Finner explained to KPRC2, Farias’ case is still “very, very active.”

“I just think that we need to get in and get some answers right now,” he said. “We’ll get down to the bottom of it.”