Neighbors are questioning whether Texas man Rudolph “Rudy” Farias actually disappeared eight years ago when he was a teenager, as police are interviewing his mother about the claim, according to local reports.
Farias, then 17, was reported missing by his mother on March 6, 2015, after taking his two dogs for a walk near his family’s home in northeast Houston. The dogs were later found, but the teenager appeared to have vanished.
Then, in what was hailed as a “miracle” by a missing persons search organization, Farias, now 25, turned up Thursday outside a church in southeast Houston.
However, stunned neighbors told KTRK that they saw Farias regularly since his alleged disappearance.
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A Missing Person poster for Rudolph “Rudy” Farias shown during the Missing Person Day event at City Hall Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016, in Houston. (TexasEquuSearch/Courtesy of Houston Chronicle via AP)
“He used to come in my garage, chill with my cousin, son and daughter,” Kisha Ross told the news station. “That boy has never been missing.”
She added, “I am confused right now. I am like, ‘What’s going on?'”
Ross’ cousin, Broderick Conley, confirmed her account.
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“Laughing good times,” Conley added of hanging out with the man they called Dolph, which is short for Rudolph.
However, in the last few weeks, the family had not seen him on their Houston street. Another neighbor, who was not identified by name, said Farias had been living at home with his mother, Janie Santana, for years.
“I was just shocked someone over here was missing, and we see him,” he said. “It’s shocking to everyone.”
The neighbors are not the only ones asking questions. Detectives with the Houston Police Department’s missing persons unit met with Farias’ mother Wednesday at a hotel near the airport, KPRC2 reported.
Police previously said they planned to question Farias’ family about his whereabouts since 2015.
Police said that a family member called in 2018 and reported that Farias was living behind a relative’s home, but police were unable to locate him.
A KTRK reporter confronted Santana about the discrepancies, and she claimed that the man the neighbors spent time with was not Farias but a nephew. The reporter showed a photo of the nephew to the neighbors, but they said they did not recognize that man.
Farias was identified Thursday after a good Samaritan spotted him unresponsive outside the church at 76th Street and Avenue L at about 10 p.m. and called police.
Rudy Farias was 17 years old and was walking his dogs when he vanished in March 2015. (Texas Center for the Missing)
He had an item on him with a family member’s identification, which helped police track down his mother.
The Houston Fire Department said that Farias had refused transportation to the hospital.
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Santana told the outlet she had taken him to the hospital herself and believed her son had been kidnapped then beaten and abused for all these years.
“My son Rudy is receiving the care he needs to overcome his trauma, but at this time, he is nonverbal and not able to communicate with us,” Santana said in a statement. “We are asking for privacy during this difficult time but will share more details as Rudy continues to heal.”
