Houston police said Wednesday have opened an investigation into the alleged disappearance — and discovery — of a 25-year-old man who had reportedly been missing for eight years.
It was widely reported over the weekend that Rudy Farias was “safely located” in Houston after a years-long search.
But at least one neighbor insists Farias was never missing and had been living with his mother on their block. The account was backed up by a community activist who said he was with Farias when he met with Houston police detectives on Wednesday.
Rudy Farias.Texas Center for the Missing
“This young man said that when he initially ran away, he came back two days later,” the activist, Quanell X, said at a press conference after the meeting with detectives.
The activist added that Farias’ mother, Janie Santana, was present for part of the meeting. Efforts to reach her for comment were unsuccessful Wednesday evening.
Houston police confirmed the meeting, but said in a statement that detectives could not discuss details or say whether the allegations were true.
Authorities planned to discuss the case further Thursday, the police department said.
A police spokesman said earlier that investigators were meeting with the family to determine “what really happened.”
“We’re trying to get to the bottom of what happened,” said the spokesman, Victor Senties.
Senties declined to say whether Farias had ever been reported missing to Houston police or any other law enforcement agency in Texas.
Melissa Rangel, case manager of the Texas Center for the Missing, said he was aware of reports questioning whether the young man had actually been missing for eight years, Rangel said. “Right now, all we’re focused on with Rudy is getting Rudy home.”
She declined to discuss the case further after Quanell X’s press conference.
Neighbor Kisha Ross, 44, a delivery driver, insisted that Farias lives two doors down from her with her mother.
“He’s been staying with his mom since I moved to Houston” eight months ago, Ross said. “His mother made him go to work with her at 7 o’clock in the afternoon, and she wouldn’t let him not have a job. She wouldn’t let him do anything. She made him stay under her at all times.”
Farias is a regular visitor to her home, Ross said, to socialize with her son, daughter and cousin.
“This guy hasn’t been missing for eight years,” Ross said of the young man known as “Dolph” to her and her family. “It’s two houses down from me. That guy comes to my house. He’s been in my living room.”
Farias was found Thursday at a church about 8 miles from his family’s home, according to an investigator with Texas EquuSearch, a nonprofit search and rescue service, which helped search for Farias.
He was non-verbal and unable to communicate, his mother said in a statement, adding that a good Samaritan discovered him and immediately called authorities.
