A Houston man believed to be missing for more than eight years actually returned home within days of being reported missing in 2015, police said Thursday.
A day after police detectives separately questioned 25-year-old Rudy Farias IV and his mother, Jenny Santana, and determined that Farias had been missing for a brief period of time when he was only 17, Houston Police Chief Troy Finer The department’s investigation is ongoing and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office has not filed criminal charges against Farias or Santana.
Police disclosed Thursday that on several occasions since Farias was reported missing, she and her mother allegedly provided fictitious names and identifying information when interacting with officers, said HPD Detective Christopher Zamora. that Santana “continued to deceive the police as Rudy was still missing”.
Zamora also said during Thursday’s press conference, “It is a criminal offense to give false names (to the police).” “There were instances when she and her mother did this. At this time, our DA has declined to accept charges pending the completion of our investigation.”
He also said that Farias was “safe” and with his mother of his own free will as of Thursday.
Finer referred to Farias as a “potential” victim a day after Houston-area activist Quannell X sat in on Farias’ interview with police and then told reporters that Farias had been abused, molested and molested by his mother. He was even described as being held captive as he was reported. Missing in March 2015.
“I’m not going to say whether he is a victim or not,” Feiner said Thursday. “We will respect everyone involved. We are going to conduct our investigation. We are right at the beginning of this.”
Farias’ mother reported him missing in early March 2015 after he took the family’s two dogs for a walk and the animals returned home without him. According to the HPD, authorities presumed he was still missing as of last Thursday, June 29, when Farias was found outside a church at Avenue L and 76th Street.
But now officials say he was back home within 48 hours of being reported missing.
Farias’ mother released a statement Monday through the nonprofit Texas Center for the Missing, claiming that when her son was discovered last week by a Good Samaritan who called 911, he did not respond. was giving.
“My son Rudy is receiving the care he needs to recover from his trauma, but at this time, he is unable to speak and is not able to communicate with us,” Santana said in his Monday statement. “We are asking for privacy during this difficult time but will share more details as Rudy recovers.”
Soon after questions arose as to whether Farias was indeed missing, Houston TV station ABC13 reported Wednesday that some of the family’s neighbors had seen Farias regularly during the years following her disappearance. Also on Wednesday, HPD detectives interviewed both Farias and Santana.
Quannell X drove Farias to his interview with police and later told reporters that he had attended the conversation and heard troubling things about Farias’ relationship with Santana. According to Quanell X, Farias fled in 2015 and returned home shortly thereafter, at which time his mother reportedly convinced Farias that he would be in legal trouble if authorities discovered he was not, in fact, missing. Could Quanell X said that Farias told police that he was sexually abused by his mother, and that at times he was locked inside her room and administered psychedelic drugs.
Houston police forcefully debunked some of those claims on Thursday. Investigators said Farias never discussed the sexual abuse involving his mother.
“The investigation is still ongoing,” Finer said.
However, shortly after Thursday’s press conference, some members of Farias’ family stood outside the HPD headquarters and reiterated the allegations of sexual abuse against Farias’ mother. Farias’s aunt, Pauline Sanchez, accused her half-sister of hiding Farias away from the family and said she had not had a chance to speak to her nephew since 2015.
Sanchez said, “How would a mother do something to her child knowing it’s so wrong?” “There must be charges.”