New Twist in Missing Persons Case as Neighbors Question if Man Found Alive After 8 Years Was Ever Missing
Multiple people who live near the mother of a Texas man, who was reported missing eight years ago as a teen and who was found last week outside of a church, said they had seen him for years at her home.
One neighbor claimed the missing man was an acquaintance of her family as recently as just a few weeks ago.
Seventeen-year-old Rudolph Farias was reported missing in March 2015.
According to KTRK-TV, the then-teen never returned from taking his dogs out for a walk in north Houston.
The Texas Center for the Missing shared a bulletin for people to be on the lookout for the teen at the time the missing person’s report was filed.
Last Saturday, the group shared an update on Twitter after eight long years:
Update: 7/1/23– After 8 long years, Rudy has been located safe. Please continue to keep his family in your prayers as Rudy recovers in the hospital. https://t.co/AFqj9qvm9G
— TX Center 4 Missing (@TXCenter) July 2, 2023
The Houston Police Department confirmed on Twitter it had located Farias, and he would be interviewed on Wednesday.
Rudy Farias was found about 10 p.m. last Thurs (June 29) outside a church on 76th St. at Ave. L.
HPD missing persons investigators plan to speak with Rudy & his family on Weds to determine his whereabouts since he was reported missing in 2015.
Any updates will be posted here. https://t.co/A1w6rgymW4
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) July 3, 2023
KTRK’s Brooke Taylor obtained a quote from Farias’ mother who described her son as “nonverbal” ahead of his Wednesday interview with detectives.
“We want to thank the media and public for all their support. My son Rudy Farias IV was found on Thursday, June 29, after being missing for eight years,” she said.
The now-25-year-old’s mother added, “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.”
The mother added she believed her son had been kidnapped.
The story took a bizarre turn on Tuesday when Taylor spoke to some of the mother’s neighbors about the case.
I spoke to Rudy Farias’ mother and she told me the man they were seeing and hanging out with is her nephew and shared a photo. But the neighbors say that photo isn’t him.
— Brooke Taylor (@ABC13Brooke) July 4, 2023
One man, who wished to keep his identity private said, “I was just shocked someone over here was missing, and we see him. It’s shocking to everyone.”
A woman named Kisha Ross, who lives in the neighborhood also, said the news Farias was reported missing was a shock to her and her family.
“He used to come in my garage, chill with my cousin, son, and daughter,” she told KTRK.
A man named Broderick Conley, who is Ross’ cousin, told the outlet he would laugh with Farias during their encounters.
“Sometimes he would go to the park by himself,” Ross said of the young man, who he knows as “Dolph.”
Farias’ mother told KTRK the neighbors had mistaken the man they had spent time with for her nephew.
After Taylor showed the neighbors a picture of the nephew, each of them said the person was not the man they had encountered and insisted Farias was the man they had spent time around or had seen.
Ross said, “That boy has never been missing.”
KTRK-TV reported Farias was reportedly witnessed living behind the home of a relative in 2018, but officers who searched for him at that time were unable to find him.
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