HOUSTON — Investigators have determined that a man found last week after he was reported missing as a 17-year-old in 2015 was never missing.
Authorities found Rudolph “Rudy” Farias outside a church on June 29, more than eight years after his mother, Janie Santana, reported that he vanished while walking his dogs on March 7, 2015.
“During the eight-year time frame where he was missing, investigators followed up on many tips (and) leads,” Lt. Christopher Zamora said Thursday at a news conference. He said authorities ultimately “collected evidence proving that Rudy was not missing during the eight-year period.”
Farias did not report sexual abuse, police say
Update 1:05 p.m. EDT July 6: One day after a Houston activist said that Farias told investigators that he had been drugged and sexually abused by his mother during the eight years since he was reported missing in 2015, police said Farias never made such a claim.
“Based on Rudy’s interview, there were no reports of sexual abuse reported,” Lt. Christopher Zamora said at a news conference Thursday. “If there is a disclosure made, we will continue to investigate. Currently, the investigation is active and there are new leads coming in, and we will continue to follow those leads.”
Activist Quanell X told reporters on Wednesday that he was in the room with Farias during his police interview and that Farias reported that he had been abused by his mother, according to KTRK-TV and KHOU-TV. Detective Sgt. Stephen Jimenez, who interviewed Farias, denied that any such disclosure was made.
“You know, I’m trained to listen for probable cause. I’m trained to listen for statements that can help me get charges or move forward with a case,” he said Thursday. “And no — there were no statements made during this investigation so far.”
Authorities continue to investigate.
DA declines to pursue charges
Update 12:50 p.m. EDT July 6: Prosecutors have declined to press charges against Farias or his mother after police said they illegally gave authorities fake names while Farias was allegedly missing.
“The investigation is still going on,” Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference Thursday. “If charges are ... appropriate, they’ll see. But let us conduct the investigation.”
It is a crime for a person to give a fake name when they’re being detained by police or under arrest.
“There was an instance where he did that — him and his mother,” Lt. Christopher Zamora said Thursday. “At the time, though, the district attorney has declined to accept charges on that until our entire investigation has been complete.”
It is also a crime to file a false missing persons report. It is a misdemeanor that Zamora likened to a traffic citation.
Farias, Santana gave police fake names, police say
Update 12:40 p.m. EDT July 6: Investigators have determined that police had contact with Farias and his mother during his alleged disappearance but at the time, they used fake names. Farias also gave a fictitious date of birth, Lt. Christopher Zamora said at a news conference Thursday.
One day after Santana reported Farias missing, he returned home, Zamora said.
“The mother, Janie, continued to deceive police by remaining adamant that Rudy was still missing,” he added. She claimed that a man seen coming and going from her home who neighbors identified as Farias was actually her nephew.
“We disputed that,” Zamora said.
Investigators said they found no evidence to support claims that Farias had been kidnapped.
Original report: Police said they interviewed Rudolph “Rudy” Farias, 25, and his mother on Wednesday, though they declined to immediately share what they learned from the discussions.
UPDATE: Statement on missing persons investigation: https://t.co/gCwpJCkYxP pic.twitter.com/ivOf4fNG2F
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) July 5, 2023
Houston activist Quanell X told reporters on Wednesday that Farias said he had been sexually abused and drugged by his mother for years, according to KTRK-TV. Quanell X said he was in the room with Farias as he told an investigator about what happened in the eight years since his mother reported him missing, KHOU-TV reported.
“The things he told me, I broke down in tears,” Quanell X said, according to the news station.
Authorities did not immediately confirm or deny that Farias had made the allegations against his mother.
“While there are reports of some of the content of the interviews being released, our detectives are not in a position at this time to discuss specifics of the interviews or if the content being released is entirely factual,” police said in a statement.
Farias’s mother, Janie Santana, reported him missing in 2015, telling investigators that he vanished while walking his dogs, KTRK reported. Police said he was found on the night of June 29 outside a church. Santana told KPRC-TV that her son was in “bad shape” after good Samaritans found him and called 911.
Questions surrounding his disappearance intensified after neighbors told KTRK that Farias — who they knew as “Dolph” — had been living at his mother’s home for years.
“He used to come in my garage, chill with my cousin, son, and daughter,” neighbor Kisha Ross told the news station. “That boy has never been missing.”
Authorities continue to investigate.
