Another twist to the confusing case of Rudolph “Rudy” Farias…
As we’ve been reporting, Rudy’s story has shocked the world — at just 17 he seemingly disappeared without a trace, but eight years later police are learning some VERY different information. Last week the now 25-year-old was miraculously “found” unconscious but alive, outside of a church in Houston. Since then, there’s been lots of questions and very few answers.
The whole situation seemed like a miracle at first, with Rudy’s mother Janie Santana expressing relief at finally seeing her son again after all these years. Quickly, though, that all came crashing down.
Neighbors said Rudy had been living in his mom’s home the whole time! The Houston Police Department then confirmed he was only missing for ONE DAY in 2015 — and since then they’ve found even more concerning evidence. Officers said Santana had been dodging police for years — going as far as creating aliases for herself and her son. Allegedly, Rudy even had direct contact with law enforcement over the years, but it was under a fake name, so none of this ever got put together.
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Santana’s history is rocky. She was convicted of illegal discharge of a firearm back in the 90s. And an ex claimed she was a bigamist and married to up to six people at once! Her own sister called her a “pathological liar.”
The question is, why would she hide her son, pretending he’s missing? What would she have to gain?
Well, we know she abused the GoFundMe site — she apparently raised over $2k for his “safe return” despite him being safe at home. If none of that was sketchy enough, a PI told The Independent Monday morning that Santana had been using Facebook as a means to raise more money. Allegedly, she was telling her friends and followers on the social platform she needed money for a ransom to get Rudy back. And that isn’t even the only Facebook misuse she’s been accused of…
But even worse, this woman may exploited her son more than financially. A local activist called Quanell X told KHOU11 that Rudy himself had claimed his mother sexually abused him. This has not been confirmed by police.
Thankfully, it seems one way or another this troubled young man is going to be out of his mother’s clutches. On Thursday Santana’s stepsister, Pauline Sanchez, chatted with NBC and revealed she was finally able to see her nephew again. Santana, who has already spoken out about her feelings regarding Rudy’s disappearance, revealed about her visit:
“I felt great presence. It was beautiful. We hugged until I finally let go. He’s a bit skinny. He’s doing well but plans to stay away from his mother.”
He plans to stay away from his mother…? This goes completely against what police reported in their public statement Thursday morning — they said he was “with his mother by choice.” This was also the same day no one was able to get ahold of Santana, because she allegedly went on the run after dodging any charges! It kind of feels like the cops are still catching up on this one…
Sanchez says her nephew needs a lot of help — and insists he’s ready to get it, away from his mother:
“His mentality, he needs to get well. He’s going to be cautious. I still feel that he’s traumatized and gone through a lot. I still feel action should be taken. He doesn’t want to see his mom and doesn’t want to go back to his mom.”
The day she finally got to see her nephew again wasn’t an easy one, either. She said she had to dodge reporters and Santana yelled and called the police on her while trying to follow a lead to Rudy’s whereabouts — but eventually her stepsister gave in and let her see her nephew:
“At first it got off to a bad start. All that matters is he is safe and sound.”
See what Sanchez had to say (below):
We’re hoping Rudy is safe and healing. Just as we reported last week, though, Santana still seems to be out of town. It’s unclear if he’s still with her or not, but last we heard he was.
Ch-ch-check out a recap of what the HPD said in their official statement last week (below):
We continue to send love and light to Rudy, wherever he may be. Thoughts, Perezcious readers?
[Image via KPRC Click2Houston/YouTube]
