The strange story of Rudy Farias spread across the country.
Details of what has happened to Farias since he was found are unclear, and both he and his mother have kept out of the public eye and have spoken little about what has happened to him over the past eight years.
The story begins on March 7, 2015, the day Farias reportedly went missing. His mother, Janie Santana, told Houston police her son had gone out for a walk and never returned home. He was 17 at the time.
It has been revealed that Rudy Farias was living with his mother during the period he was believed to be missing. (Texas Center for Missing Persons)
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Farias was found injured outside a church in southeast Houston eight years later on June 29, 2023. According to Houston police investigators, Farias returned to her home the day after she went missing, ABC13 Houston reported.
“What we do know is that at the time of his recovery, a well-meaning person found him unresponsive and immediately called police and 911,” his mother said in a statement released after he was found. “Our son Rudy is receiving the care he needs to overcome the trauma, but at this time is non-verbal and unable to communicate with us.”
Police said in a press conference on July 6, 2023 that both Santana and Farias had used false names in their interactions with various officers over the years.
Farias has made few public comments since his body was found outside the church, but has offered selective details about what happened during the eight years he was thought to be missing.
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“She didn’t lock me up or handcuff me or anything like that,” Farias told ABC13 Houston. “I had free will to leave. I just felt like I was brainwashed. She manipulated me into saying, ‘You’re going to be arrested,’ and kept me confused.”
Multiple allegations have emerged that Farias was sexually abused by Santana over the past eight years, brought by Farias’ family and by Houston community activist Quanell X, who claims Farias reported the abuse in the presence of detectives, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Police said there were no reports of sexual abuse by Farias, according to ABC13 Houston.
On July 6, 2023, a meeting was held with the Houston Police Department where more information regarding the Rudy Farias case was provided. (Brett Kummer/Houston Chronicle via The Associated Press)
Farias himself addressed these allegations, saying that while boundaries had been crossed, he had never been sexually assaulted.
“I had to sleep in her bed sometimes. I don’t remember why. It was about boundaries, she would push me or make me uncomfortable and I would tell her to stop and she was like, ‘Uh, why, why? I haven’t done anything wrong,’ so I was just like, Okay, okay,” Farias told ABC13 Houston.
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“My mother had me trapped emotionally,” Farias told the outlet. “She was my only parent, the only person I really depended on besides my brother. When I lost my brother, I had no one to teach me how to live, to have confidence, to believe in myself, so I depended on my mother my whole life.”
According to ABC13 Houston, Farias’ half-brother died in a motorcycle accident in 2011. A few years later, in 2014, his father, a Houston Police Department officer, committed suicide.
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“I should be hearing my family on the other side of the door, happy and cheerful, and I’m like, ‘I want my family. I want people. I just want communication,'” Farias told ABC13 Houston. “It felt like I was living in prison. It felt like I’d been living in prison my whole life. I just wanted to be free. I wanted to have my own job. I just wanted to live my own life. I just wanted to love someone. I wanted someone who would really love me. I had a hard time making sense of my emotions.”
According to FOX26, numerous neighbors claim to have seen Farias during the years he was missing.
Texas resident Rudy Farias had been missing for eight years, but Houston police determined he was actually living with his mother. (FOX26)
There have been few developments in Farias’ case in the year since he was found, but he has expressed hope of living a normal, happy life.
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“I just want to live my life. I want to have a family, a car, a house. I just want to live my life and be happy,” Farias told ABC13 Houston.
Sources said he no longer lives with his mother and wants no contact with her.
