Mom not charged yet in case of teen reported missing
A day after they met with a man who went missing as a teen, Houston police officials further muddied the murky narrative surrounding the case that has captivated millions, confirming some rumors and declining to substantiate others at a wildly anticipated news conference Thursday morning.
One matter they seemed firm on, Rudolph “Rudy” Farias IV’S mother, Janie Santana, had lied, for years, to investigators in order to maintain the façade that her son had been missing for eight years, when in reality he’d returned home one day after he “ran away” in March 2015.
Despite her misrepresentations, Santana was not facing any charges as of Thursday, police said. But the law enforcement investigation into the strange circumstances surrounding Farias’ disappearance and sudden reemergence last week — after a good Samaritan reported seeing him asleep outside a church — remains ongoing, Chief Troy Finner said.
As department leaders worked to contain a swarm of conflicting unofficial accounts at police headquarters, Farias’ extended family members held court in the police parking lot, where they blasted the department leaders for their failure to locate the young man for years and for allowing him to return home with his mother after he and Santana met with investigators Wednesday.
“Right now, they’re giving Janie a head start,” said Michelle Rodriguez, a cousin of Farias, referring to the chief ’s decision not to bring immediate charges against Santana, whom she believes willfully kept Farias from contact with the public.
Representatives for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors have three options when presented with evidence in a case — they can accept or deny charges, or refer the case back for further investigation. In this case, prosecutors referred the case for further investigation, according to an office spokesperson.
Farias was 17 when he took his dogs for a walk on March 6, 2015, and, according to relatives at the time, failed to return. Family members reported him missing after the two dogs returned to the family home with their leashes still attached but without the teen, according to reports.
At the time, Texas Equusearch said in news releases about the boy’s disappearance that Farias had injured his leg and walked with a limp. The organization said the teen suffered from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, exacerbated by the recent death of his older brother in a motor vehicle accident and the suicide of his father.
Houston police said on Thursday that the father, Rudolph Farias III, was a police officer in the city’s traffic enforcement division who died by suicide in 2014. He had recently been relieved of duty at the time of his death. The department was reportedly looking into allegations that police officials were submitting falsified citations.
The younger Farias was believed to have been missing for eight years. But detectives Thursday said they could confirm that, a day after Farias’ mother reported him missing, on March 7, 2015 — the teen returned home and has been living there with her ever since.
“Both Janie, Rudy’s mother, and Rudy himself gave fictitious names while interacting with various patrol officers,” Lt. Christopher Zamora said. Santana “continued to deceive police” by reporting him missing.
Finner declined to speculate or remark on what might have motivated family members to say he was missing. Investigators said the residence was searched at the time the teen was reported missing.
In the short time since Farias and Santana met with investigators, unconfirmed theories about the case have been bandied about. The speculation, in online forums and in neighborhoods across Houston, came after local activist Quanell X told a reporter he’d met with the family. He shared unconfirmed allegations about Farias’ condition as well as detailed, but unverified accounts of what happened to the young man during the eight years he was believed to be missing.
Quanell X told Hearst Newspapers that Farias’ mother had contacted him and asked to meet with him, but he said Farias opened up to him once he had a chance to speak separately from Santana.
Zamora said Thursday that Farias had not shared the same allegations about what went on in the home with investigators.
However, family members gathered outside the police department on Thursday suggested that investigators ought to give more credence to what Quanell X said and they hoped police will make sure Farias gets a medical evaluation.
Emergency responders from Houston’s police and fire departments verified that they had positively identified Farias as the child who had gone missing on Thursday after someone called to report he’d been sleeping in front of a church near Avenue K and 76th Street in southeast Houston.