‘Missing’ Rudy Farias’ mother hid him for 8 years

The mother of the Houston man reported missing in 2015 actually hid her now-25-year-old son at home and repeatedly lied to police before he was miraculously ‘found’ last week, police said Thursday.

Janie Santana referred to her son, Rudy Farias, as her “nephew” if they were spotted publicly, but remains free from criminal charges for now as Houston Police Department continues to probe the bizarre, bogus disappearance.

In the eight years since Farias was said to have disappeared while walking his dogs in early March 2015 police had actually encountered the purportedly missing man — but both he and his mother gave false information to officers. 

“During these contacts, fictitious names and date of births were given, misleading the officers,” Houston Police Department Lt. Christopher Zamora told reporters Thursday.

“In fact, both Janie, Rudy’s mother and Rudy himself gave fictitious names while interacting with various patrol officers.”

Farias, who was 17 at the time he ‘disappeared’, actually returned home March 8, 2015, one day after was said to have gone missing, police said. But his mother “continued to deceive police by remaining adamant that Rudy was still missing.

“She alleged her nephew was the person friends and family were seeing coming and going,” Zamora told.

The Harris County District Attorney’s office has declined to charge Santana pending further investigation, citing a lack of probable cause so far, police and DA officials said.  

And when asked if the mother could have been charged for failing to notify police of her son’s whereabouts, Zamora said she would have faced a “class C misdemeanor, which is similar to a traffic citation.”

Farias’ own relatives reportedly believed he was still missing despite his swift return.

“I’ve never seen Rudy since the day he went missing,” Farias’ aunt Sylvia Lopez, told KHOU 11.

Farias was found slumped over outside the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church on June 29, 2023, after he reportedly fled his family’s home.

His mother lauded the discovery in a statement to media, writing: “We want to thank the media and public for all their support. My son Rudy Farias IV was found on Thursday, June 29, after being missing for eight years.”

Farias and his family initially declined hospital treatment after Houston Fire Department checked him over on-scene, officials said Thursday. But Santana later transported him to the hospital.

Police defended their decision to release Farias into his mother’s care and their decision to wait six days before interviewing him.

“You can’t force a potential victim … to come in and give a statement,” HPD Chief Troy Finner telling reporters Thursday.

He declined to say whether he considered Farias a victim.

Police interviewed Farias and Santana Wednesday, and she was allowed to leave the hospital with Farias following the interview. That same day, Houston-based activist Quanell X claimed Farias made horrifying allegations against his mother, KHOU 11 reported.

“She would ask him to play daddy, she told him that he had to be the husband,” according to Quanell X, who said he was with police at the time of the hospital bedside interview.

He claimed Farias said his mother told him to keep his safe return under wraps, according to the report.

“She was giving him drugs. She was punishing him by locking him in a room over and over. She convinced him that law enforcement wanted to put him in jail … that because he ran away, he was going to go to prison,” the activist claimed.

But Det. Sgt. Stephen Jimenez, who personally interviewed Farias, disputed any claims of sexual abuse and noted Farias has not reported any sexual abuse to him.

He said he is trained to listen for “statements that can help me get charges or move forward with the case,” but there were none in what he was told during the official interview.

No search warrants have been executed on the home so far, officials said.

Investigators are continuing to probe all allegations. Police are noting Farias was 17 — legally an adult in the state of Texas — when he disappeared.

“Rudy is safe,” they said. “He is with his mother by choice. He is a 25-year-old man.”