Police in Houston addressed the media Thursday to discuss the disappearance and seemingly sudden reappearance of Randolph Rudy Farias IV, who his mother said went missing in March 2015 when he was just 17 years old. Farias reportedly appeared bruised and bloody on a church doorstep last week, allegedly the victim of domestic abuse. Many think that his mother, Janie Santana, is to blame.
Some family and neighbors claim Farias was never missing at all and that he has been held captive by Santana for the past eight years. Police are continuing to investigate the bizarre case and hope to shed light on where Farias has been for nearly a decade but have yet to file any charges.
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Emerging details contradict Santana's long-standing story.
Rudy Farias allegedly took the family's dogs for a walk on March 7, 2015, but his mother said he never came home. The dogs reportedly came back without leashes, which prompted the mother to contact the police and to report her son missing. Houston Police Lt. Christopher Zamora spoke at the news conference Thursday.
"After investigators talked to him yesterday, it was discovered Rudy returned home the following day on March 8, 2015. The mother, Janie, continued to deceive police by remaining adamant that Rudy was still missing," Zamora said.
Farias was reportedly in contact with police while his mother allegedly held him captive.
Zamora said that during the eight years Santana claimed Rudy was missing, police followed up on several tips from family and neighbors regarding the supposed missing teen.
"Rudy was recently identified as having previous HPD interactions, meaning that he made contact with patrol officers out on the street. However, during these contacts, fictitious names and date of births were given misleading officers, and Rudy would remain missing," he explained during the news conference.
Both the mother and son allegedly gave false information to the police, notably Santana claiming the young man living with her was her nephew and not her son.
According to one person, police aren't telling the whole truth.
Famed Houston advocate Quanell X reportedly spoke with Farias after he appeared at the church and claimed that the young man alleged sexual abuse at the hands of his mother. But Zamora reported Farias did not make any sexual abuse claims against his mother. He said if disclosure of abuse is made, police will follow up and investigate.
According to Quanell, "He said he didn't like getting in the bed with her, that he would try to sneak out of the bed and sometimes hide under the bed, but she told him he had to be her husband."
The advocate spoke with Fox 26 after the news conference and claimed police were with him during the interview with Farias and heard the same story yet are denying any sexual abuse claims.
Authorities are not currently filing charges against the mother.
To the dismay of many who love Farias, authorities have decided not to file charges against Santana for filing a false police report.
"Janie is a hypothetical liar," Pauline Sanchez, Farias' aunt and Santana's half-sister, told KVUE. "I'm not quite sure, but I'm going to have to say she knows a lot of people in HPD and that's why her freaking a– has been covered up."
GoFundMe has even confirmed that Santana accepted more than $2,000 in donations to help find Rudy back when he was initially reported missing, according to Newsweek. She is now banned from the platform.
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According to police, Farias is with his mother on his own will and is safe and well.
His cousin, Michelle Rodriguez, told KVUE that she wants Santana 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 said. "She had people all over the United States looking for him."
And she praised Quanell X, saying he is trying to help. She shared her love for the young man they so desperately wanted home for so long.
"We love you," the family told KVUE. "Your aunts, your cousins, we stand behind you and we are right here with you."
