Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US House Passes Stablecoin Legislation, Sending Bill to Trump

4 hours ago

Man Admits to Killing Missing Bass Lake Resident, Madera County Authorities Say

6 hours ago

Trump Diagnosed With Vein Condition Causing Leg Swelling, White House Says

7 hours ago

US Strikes Destroyed Only One of Three Iranian Nuclear Sites, NBC News Reports

9 hours ago

US Seeks One-Day Sentence for Police Officer Convicted in Breonna Taylor Case

10 hours ago

Manhattan Prosecutor Who Handled Epstein Cases Is Fired

11 hours ago

Why California Ag Is at Odds Over Converting Land to Solar Farms

11 hours ago

7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Alaska Coast. No Danger to California

1 day ago
Disappearance Hoax Unraveled: Texas Man and Mother Deceived Authorities for Years
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
July 6, 2023

Share

HOUSTON — The case of a Texas man who was reported missing as a teenager in 2015 and found alive last week at a church took an unexpected turn Thursday when police revealed it all was a hoax — the man was only gone for a day, but he and his mother maintained the ruse for eight years by using false names.

Prosecutors did not file any charges against Janie Santana and her son, Rudolph “Rudy” Farias IV, but the investigation is continuing, Houston police detectives said. They gave few other details about where they believe the case could lead.

Santana’s family said they suspected Farias was not missing and blamed Santana for keeping him away from them all these years.

“We’re upset that (authorities) are not going to do anything,” Pauline Sanchez Rodriguez, Farias’ aunt, said as she and other family members stood outside Houston police headquarters.

Santana did not return a telephone call seeking comment Thursday.

The announcement came a week after police said they found Farias after receiving a call about a person lying on the ground in front of a southeast Houston church.

Authorities had not previously said where Farias spent the past eight years since he was reported missing as a 17-year-old who took his two dogs for a walk near his family’s home in northeast Houston and never came back. Now 25, he was hospitalized after police found him last week, and detectives interviewed him and his mother on Wednesday.

Farias Returned Home a Day After Reported Missing

Investigators concluded Farias returned home the day after he was reported missing but “the mother, Janie, continued to deceive police by remaining adamant that Rudy was still missing,” Lt. Christopher Zamora said during a news conference.

During the past eight years, Farias and his mother had various interactions with officers, police said.

“During these contacts, fictitious names and date of births were given — misleading the officers — and Rudy would remain missing,” Zamora said.

After Farias was reported missing, Houston police and Texas Equusearch, a civilian search and recovery team, looked for him without success, although his dogs were later found.

Sightings of Farias Over the Years

In the years following, there were several possible sightings of Farias, according to a private investigator hired by Santana a few months after he went missing. They included one sighting in 2018 that police responded to, but the investigation remained open as a missing person case.

Rodriguez said her late mother, Rosa Sosa Rodriguez, had been living with Santana and kept telling relatives that Farias was living in the house with them.

“My mom would always tell me, ‘Rudy is here … He’s there. He’s in that room,’” Rodriguez said. “And Janie said, ‘No she’s lying, she’s losing it.’”

Zamora said Santana claimed the person friends and family were seeing was not Farias but her nephew, but “we disputed that.”

Rodriguez and other family members also accused Santana of not presenting an accurate picture of herself to people and of not caring about family members.

Santana Accused of Misrepresenting Herself and Neglecting Family

Court records show Santana has used at least three different names and was accused of mistreating her mother while they lived together. During a 2020 dispute over her mother’s guardianship, Santana’s sisters accused her of forcing their mother to live in a home that had “animal urine and feces throughout” and causing her to have “significant bed sores” because she “did not have a bed and slept on the couch.”

In a 2011 affidavit filed in a court case in which Santana’s marriage was declared “null and void” because a judge concluded she was married to another man at the time, Rodriguez said her sister “has always been a pathological liar. She lies about everything.”

Rodriguez said she and other family members have yet to speak with Farias and they remain worried about him.

“I just want him safe,” said Sylvia Sanchez Lopez, another aunt of Farias.

Farias Chose to Stay with His Mother

But Zamora, with the police department’s Missing Persons Unit, said Farias was safe and he had decided to stay “with his mother by choice.”

Police Chief Troy Finner said when Farias was reported missing, he was 17 years old, which is considered an adult in Texas. Now in his twenties, Farias is “a grown man,” he said.

After police announced that Farias had been found, Santana released a statement saying, he “is receiving the care he needs to overcome his trauma, but at this time, he is nonverbal and not able to communicate with us.” She also asked for privacy.

Finner declined Thursday to answer questions about the mental health of Farias or his mother and would not say what might have motivated their actions. He said police are “right at the beginning” of their investigation into what happened.

Police also said patrol officers responded to a burglary call Wednesday night at the family’s home and that it is now part of their investigation.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Stephen Colbert’s Late-Night Show on CBS to End in May 2026

DON'T MISS

Former Los Banos Teacher Indicted on Federal Child Exploitation Charges

DON'T MISS

C for Chaos? Ashjian Kicked Off Measure C Committee

DON'T MISS

Israel Demands UN Scrap Investigation Body for Palestinian Territories

DON'T MISS

Trump Signs Executive Order Creating New Classification of Non-Career Federal Workers

DON'T MISS

Judge Rules Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner Was Illegal

DON'T MISS

US House Passes Stablecoin Legislation, Sending Bill to Trump

DON'T MISS

US Health Department Hands Over Medicaid Personal Data to ICE

DON'T MISS

Fresno Grass Fire Near Woodward Park Prompts Brief Evacuations

DON'T MISS

Behind the Masks: Who Are the People Rounding Up Immigrants in California?

UP NEXT

Former Los Banos Teacher Indicted on Federal Child Exploitation Charges

UP NEXT

C for Chaos? Ashjian Kicked Off Measure C Committee

UP NEXT

Israel Demands UN Scrap Investigation Body for Palestinian Territories

UP NEXT

Trump Signs Executive Order Creating New Classification of Non-Career Federal Workers

UP NEXT

Judge Rules Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner Was Illegal

UP NEXT

US House Passes Stablecoin Legislation, Sending Bill to Trump

UP NEXT

US Health Department Hands Over Medicaid Personal Data to ICE

UP NEXT

Fresno Grass Fire Near Woodward Park Prompts Brief Evacuations

UP NEXT

Behind the Masks: Who Are the People Rounding Up Immigrants in California?

UP NEXT

Homeowners With Solar Rise Up to Defang Bill Authored by Former Utility Executive

Israel Demands UN Scrap Investigation Body for Palestinian Territories

3 hours ago

Trump Signs Executive Order Creating New Classification of Non-Career Federal Workers

3 hours ago

Judge Rules Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner Was Illegal

4 hours ago

US House Passes Stablecoin Legislation, Sending Bill to Trump

4 hours ago

US Health Department Hands Over Medicaid Personal Data to ICE

5 hours ago

Fresno Grass Fire Near Woodward Park Prompts Brief Evacuations

5 hours ago

Behind the Masks: Who Are the People Rounding Up Immigrants in California?

5 hours ago

Homeowners With Solar Rise Up to Defang Bill Authored by Former Utility Executive

5 hours ago

Man Admits to Killing Missing Bass Lake Resident, Madera County Authorities Say

6 hours ago

Trump Diagnosed With Vein Condition Causing Leg Swelling, White House Says

7 hours ago

Stephen Colbert’s Late-Night Show on CBS to End in May 2026

LOS ANGELES – “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS will end in May 2026 after the upcoming broadcast season, the ne...

2 hours ago

Stephen Colbert arrives for the Saturday Night Live 50: The Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, U.S., February 16, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Stephen Colbert’s Late-Night Show on CBS to End in May 2026

The crest of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File photo
2 hours ago

Former Los Banos Teacher Indicted on Federal Child Exploitation Charges

2 hours ago

C for Chaos? Ashjian Kicked Off Measure C Committee

Flares fired by Israel Defense Forces light the sky above Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
3 hours ago

Israel Demands UN Scrap Investigation Body for Palestinian Territories

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

Trump Signs Executive Order Creating New Classification of Non-Career Federal Workers

Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter testifies on the "Oversight of the Federal Trade Commission" before the U.S. Senate Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security Subcommittee in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, U.S., November 27, 2018. (Reuters File)
4 hours ago

Judge Rules Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner Was Illegal

FILE PHOTO: A view shows the dome of the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
4 hours ago

US House Passes Stablecoin Legislation, Sending Bill to Trump

A view of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 27, 2025. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

US Health Department Hands Over Medicaid Personal Data to ICE

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend