HOUSTON — In a news conference Thursday, Houston police disputed allegations made by community activist Quanell X on Wednesday. Quanell X had claimed Rudy Farias told him that his mother hid him all these years, drugged him and sexually abused him.
Police said Farias didn't report sexual abuse by his mother when they interviewed him Wednesday.
"If there is a disclosure made, we will continue to investigate," Lt. Christopher Zamora said. "We do take all allegations seriously and any new information or facts that we receive will be investigated."
Police confirmed Farias returned home a day after he was originally reported missing on March 7, 2015. They said he has not been missing for eight years as his mother, Janie Santana, continued to claim after a good Samaritan found him in front of a church on June 29.
“Rudy’s mother continued to deceive police by remaining adamant that he was still missing,” Zamora said. "She said her nephew was the person friends and family were seeing coming and going, however, we disputed that."
Police said Farias had previous interactions with HPD patrol officers but they didn't realize he was the man reported missing.
“During these contacts, fictitious names and dates of births were given,” Zamora said.
He said Santana also give phony names during interactions with police.
He said the district attorney's office declined to accept charges at this time, but Police Chief Troy Finner said it's early in the investigation.
"We're going to work our way through, it takes a little while," Finner said. "There's a lot of developments still, even last night."
He said Farias has been connected with Victims Services to get help if he needs it.
"Rudy is safe. He is with his mother by choice," Finner said.
Meanwhile, we spoke with Quanell X after the news conference and he is sticking by his original story. He said a detective did hear part of what Farias told him about being forced to sleep with his mother.
"The detective also heard Rudy did not like this and would sometimes get out of bed and sleep on the floor cause he did not like what she was forcing him to do. To me, that is sexual abuse."
Relatives call decision not to charge mom 'bulls--t'
Relatives of Farias held their own news conference and questioned the decision not to charge Santana.
"Janie is a hypothetical liar," Pauline Sanchez, Farias' aunt and Santana's half-sister told us. "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 ass has been covered up."
Santana was once married to an HPD officer who took his life in 2014, the year before her son was reported missing. Rudolph Farias, Rudy's father, had been fired following a ticket-rigging scandal uncovered by KHOU 11 Investigates.
The relative said police had Santana in handcuffs after interviewing her and Rudy Wednesday but after the district attorney's office declined charges, they let her leave with Rudy.
"Why in the freaking world did they let her go?" Michelle Rodriguez, a cousin, asked.
"It's bulls--t," Pauline Sanchez, Farias' aunt and Santana's half-sister, told us.
The women questioned why Santana isn't been charged with filing a false report.
"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," Rodriguez said. "She had people all over the United States looking for him."
The relatives also defended Quanell X.
"His statement should have been brought up because Quanell is here to help."
They said Farias hasn't been in the hospital since a good Samaritan found him in front of a church last week, as his mother said, and the photo of Farias in the hospital that was given to the media earlier this week is actually from 2012.
They also had a message for Farias.
"... We love you," they said. Your aunts, your cousins, we stand behind you and we are right here with you."
WATCH: Full news conference with HPD, Farias' aunts
Rudy Farias timeline
March 7, 2015: Rudolph 'Rudy' Farias was 17 when his mother first reported him missing. He had last been seen along Valley Lake Drive, which is north of Tidwell in northeast Houston. He was reportedly walking his two dogs when he disappeared. The dogs were later found, but Farias was not.
His mother said Farias suffered from anxiety, depression and asthma and didn't have his inhaler when he left.
HPD later said they went to the home multiple times while investigating his disappearance and spoke with family, friends and neighbors.
Volunteers with Texas Equusearch also searched for Farias.
March 8, 2015: We now know that Farias returned to his home the day after he disappeared, Houston police said in a news conference eight years later.
May 2017: Farias was one of the cases included in the KHOU 11 special series "Bring Them Home" about missing children.
We interviewed his mother who continued to claim that her son vanished and was still missing more than two years later.
Janie Santana said then that detectives warned family members that her son may have been abducted and sold into human trafficking.
"He has such a huge heart. He loves with all his heart,” Santana told us. "So that's why we know he wouldn't just get up and go on his own. That's not him It's just a nightmare that you want to wake up from.”
September 2018: Houston police said they got a call from family members, telling them that Farias was living behind a family member's home. Police searched, but didn't find him.
Dates unknown: HPD said patrol officers had interactions with Farias through the years but they didn't realize he was the missing teen because he gave them fake names. They didn't give specifics about what those encounters were and when they occurred.
June 29, 2023: At about 10 p.m., police said a man, who would later be identified as Farias, was found outside Immaculate Heart Church near 76th Street and Avenue K in southeast Houston. According to Farias' family, a good Samaritan found him unresponsive and called 911.
HPD later said Farias was checked out by EMTs but didn't want to go to the hospital.
“He was cleared on the scene by HFD, they refused, he refused transportation to the hospital," Zamora said in the July 6 news conference.
July 3, 2023: The family released the following statement.
"We want to thank the media and public for all their support. My son Rudy Farias IV was found on Thursday, June 29th, after being missing for eight years. Currently, we do not have any additional information on Rudy’s case. What we do know is at the time of his recovery, a good Samaritan located him unresponsive and immediately called police and 911. 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. We are asking for privacy during this difficult time but will share more details as Rudy continues to heal."
Santana said her son was in the hospital and released a photo of him in a hospital bed. Her sisters later said the photo was actually from 2012.
July 5, 2023: HPD met with Farias and Santana at a hotel.
Houston community activist Quanell X told the media that he spoke with Farias alone. He said the now 25-year-old man told him his mother forced him to go along with the charade and told him he'd go to prison if he didn't. Quanell X also said Farias told him and the investigator that his mom had been drugging and sexually abusing him.
HPD later said Farias did not tell them he'd been sexually abused when they interviewed him.
Santana agreed to speak with KHOU 11 News on Wednesday to give her side of the story but never showed up. This comes after new allegations were made by Quanell X, which police have not confirmed. Later Wednesday we found Santana but she sped away from our cameras.
That night, Farias' aunt said she hadn't seen him since the day he went missing. Sylvia Lopez said she even traveled out of state with Santana to help look for him.
“She had me out there in California thinking that they had found somebody that looked like Rudy in California," Lopez said. "And I went all the way with her."
July 6, 2023: A neighbor told KHOU 11 News that he spotted Santana at her house early Thursday but she left sometime after midnight.
He called 911 and police were still at the house hours later.