Rudy Farias found: Activist says Houston man was abused by mother after police denial as GoFundMe launched

A Texas man who reportedly vanished eight years ago, and was recently found, was never actually missing, neighbours have claimed.

Twenty-five-year-old Rudy Farias made headlines over the weekend after it was reported he was found outside a church following his 6 March 2015 disappearance, his mother Janie Santana told ABC News. But in a shocking turn of events, neighbours of Ms Santana have now told the outlet that they were never aware Mr Farias was missing because they’ve often seen him in recent years.

“He used to come in my garage, chill with my cousin, son, and daughter,” Kisha Ross told ABC. “That boy has never been missing … Sometimes he would go to the park by himself.”

Rudy Farias’ mother said she expected to be arrested after her son was reportedly “found” eight years after he was reported missing in a video captured before authorities revealed the district attorney would not pursuing charges.

Janie Santana’s recount of her son’s fictitious disappearance was been thrown into doubt after a counsellor who interviewed Mr Farias with Houston Police Department officers told reporters he had been sexually and physically abused and kept hidden by his mother the whole time.

In a video clip obtained by KPRC 2, Ms Santana told neighbours that she is expecting to be arrested.

“When he first went missing, he didn’t report it to the police,” Ms Santana said as she got out of her car at her home on Wednesday.

“And they are trying to say that he might have done some crimes. Which he didn’t. And now they want to arrest me. Because they said I was hiding him.”

Since Mr Farias’ bizarre “discovery” was announced earlier this week, family and neighbours have come forward to say that they were aware of his presence at his mother’s home.

The relatives of Rudy Farias say they long disputed his mother, Janie Santana’s, claims that he was missing.

Mr Farias’ cousin, Cassandra Lopez, told KPRC2 that the family “knew in their hearts” that Mr Fairas was not gone. Ms Lopez told the Houston news station that their grandmother claimed to speak to Mr Farias regularly.

“She would just say, ‘I saw Rudy. You know, he came to check on me and we said hello and we had a little conversation,’” Ms Lopez said.

The family’s comments came shortly before police confirmed that the 25-year-old man had not been missing for eight years.

Houston police confirmed that 25-year-old Rudy Farias was not missing for the eight years his mother claimed he was but said the Houston district attorney declined to pursue charges against Jamie Santana.

Ms Santana could have been charged with “making fictitious reports” or “failure to ID” but the DA chose not to make those charges.

Police could not offer a possible motive behind why Ms Santana claimed her son was missing when he was not.

Rudy Farias’ mother announced he was found alive eight years after he was reported missing as a teen. This news came as a surprise to neighbours and police, who are sure he wasn’t missing at all.

For the eight years that Rudy Farias was allegedly missing, there were inconsistencies in her story, sources told ABC13.

Janie Santana told police her son was missing and seemingly failed to inform them he returned home one day after reporting him missing. But when investigators followed up with Ms Santana multiple times, she maintained that Mr Farias was actually her nephew and provided authorities with a false name.

Relatives and neighbours say that Mr Farias was never missing as he had been living at home with his mother the entire time.

When Mr Farias was found, Ms Santana claimed that he had been badly beaten and was “nonverbal” but Mr Farias was able to speak with authorities several days after he was found.

Pauline Sanchez Rodriguez, the stepsister of Janie Santana, told KPRC 2 that she thinks Ms Santana has been lying about Rudy Farias’ whereabouts.

“Everything’s coming out to light,” Ms Rodriguez said.

She told KPRC 2 she wanted to see if she could find her stepsister adding that she ‘fears’ for Mr Farias’ life.

“[Mr Farias] was afraid because his mom manipulated him and kept him from spending time with us, talking to us, socialising with his cousins. And that’s wrong.”

People online are raising questions as to how 25-year-old Rudy Farias was never declared “not missing” if there had been publicity about him online.

Mr Farias, who supposedly went missing in 2015 after failing to return from a walk with his dogs, had multiple articles written about him including a Dateline story.

The story, from 2015 featured photos, information and quotes from his mother, Janie Santana.

For eight years, local and national media had released stories in the hopes of finding Mr Farias.

It wasn’t until last week when Mr Farias was “found” that neighbours sounded the alarm and said the young man was never missing.

In a press conference on Thursday, investigators were questioned by reporters about the status of Rudy Farias whose mother lied about him being missing for eight years.

Police confirmed that Mr Farias is “safe” and “with his mother by choice.”

Several people raised alarms over Mr Farias due to allegations that his mother, Janie Santana, was abusing him. However, investigators said that Mr Farias never said this to them.

Police reminded people that Mr Farias is 25 years old can make his own decisions.