Rudy Farias’ mother ‘claimed he was kidnapped by human traffickers’ while she hid Texas man in home – updates

Rudy Farias’ mother once claimed that her son had been kidnapped by human traffickers while she was actually hiding him in her own home, according to a private investigator.

Brenda Paradise told The Independent she devoted hundreds of hours to finding Mr Farias but grew suspicious of his mother Janie Santana.

While claiming her son was missing, Ms Paradise said that Ms Santana repeatedly asked for money on her Facebook pages to help track him down.

Once, she asked for money to pay a ransom to a suspected human trafficker in Tijuana, Mexico, who she falsely claimed had kidnapped Mr Farias. She even went to a morgue to identify a deceased body, Ms Paradise said.

Mr Farias made headlines last week when Ms Santana announced that the now-25-year-old had been “found” eight years after she reported him missing in 2015.

Houston police later confirmed that he was never missing and had been living at home with his mother the whole time.

Community activist Quanell X later claimed Mr Farias had alleged alarming abuse by his mother. After his claims were refuted by police, he doubled down in an interview with The Independent. Ms Santana has not been charged.

Key Points

An 8-year search for Rudy Farias came to a miracle end. But was he really missing?
Timeline of Rudy Farias’s disappearance and discovery
Houston investigators say Rudy Farias was never missing
District Attorney will not pursue charges against Rudy Farias’ mother
GoFundMe to search for Rudy Farias raised $2k

ICYMI: Quanell X tells reporters about the ‘horrific things’ Rudy Farias shared with him

15:32 , Ariana Baio

Woman who was a ‘surrogate parent’ to Rudy Farias reveals years long suspicion

15:30 , Ariana Baio

Jacque Brunswick, a woman who lived in the same Houston neighbourhood as Rudy Farias and his mother Janie Santana said she suspected that Mr Farias’ mother was involved in his disappearance.

Ms Brunswick appeared on NewsNation on Friday to react to the news that Ms Santana had lied about his disappearance. She said when Mr Farias was first reported missing in 2015, she suspected Ms Santana was involved.

“I honestly had always thought that Janie had something to do with it, had her hands in it some way or somehow,” she said. “After a couple of years, I started grieving him because I truly thought that he was dead.”

Ms Brunswick said she became close with Mr Farias following his brother’s death in a motorcycle accident.

“Rudy was really having trouble dealing with it and was wanting help,” she said. “And it wasn’t just me. There was some other people that you know, we started that taking him under our wings.”

Ms Brunswick said the then-teenager was “sheltered” and appeared to be afraid of his mother.

“He was a very timid young man, would not look at you when he spoke, especially if she was around,” she told anchor Chris Cuomo. “He would look at the ground and fidget with his hands.”

Questions in the Rudy Farias case still remain

14:30 , Ariana Baio

At first glance, it appeared to be a happy ending where a family was reunited and a mother’s years of agony searching for her missing child finally came to an end.

But, it quickly became apparent that things weren’t what they seemed.

Rudy Farias’ remarkable return eight years after his mother Janie Santana filed a missing persons report turned out to be nothing but a scam.

One of the biggest questions surrounding the case is why Mr Farias’ mother continued to claim he was missing for eight years – when he had actually returned home just one day after he disappeared.

A possible motive has emerged in the fact that Ms Santana profited financially from the false claims of her son’s disappearance.

Rudy Farias: Timeline of the bizarre case

14:00 , Rachel Sharp

The discovery of a 25-year-old Texas man who had been reported missing eight years earlier was briefly welcomed as a minor miracle.

But since Rudy Farias was found with severe injuries outside of a Houston church on 29 June, the baffling story has unravelled with claims of lies, alleged abuse and greed.

Here is a timeline of the perplexing case:

Rudy Farias: A timeline of the bizarre case of the ‘missing’ Texas man

Why is Rudy’s mother not facing criminal charges?

13:30 , Rachel Sharp

Despite police now saying they know that the eight-year disappearance was nothing but a fraud, Rudy Farias’ mother Janie Santana is not currently facing any criminal charges.

In Thursday’s press conference, Houston Police Lt Zamora said the district attorney had declined to bring any charges in the case “at this time”.

“Being missing is not a crime,” Lt Zamora said, insisting that – under Texas law – Mr Farias was classed as an adult when he went missing.

When pressed that making fictitious reports to police was a crime, authorities stood by the “integrity” of the investigation and said that it is ongoing.

Rudy Farias’ mother may face legal action from GoFundMe after she profited from fake disappearance story

13:00 , Rachel Sharp

Rudy Farias’ mother could soon face legal action from GoFundMe after she raked in thousands of dollars in donations by falsely claiming that her son was missing.

The fundraising platform said in a statement on Thursday that Janie Santana had been permanently banned from GoFundMe and from all future beneficiary opportunities after the bizarre scam came to light this week.

“GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform and cooperates with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to The Independent.

Rudy Farias’ mother claimed son was kidnapped by human traffickers

12:26 , Rachel Sharp

Rudy Farias’ mother once claimed that her son had been kidnapped by human traffickers while she was actually hiding him in her own home, according to a private investigator.

Brenda Paradise told The Independent she devoted hundreds of hours to finding Mr Farias but grew suspicious of his mother Janie Santana.

While claiming her son was missing, Ms Paradise said that Ms Santana repeatedly asked for money on her Facebook pages to help track him down.

Once, she asked for money to pay a ransom to a suspected human trafficker in Tijuana, Mexico, who she falsely claimed had kidnapped Mr Farias.

She even went to a morgue to identify a deceased body, Ms Paradise said.

Was Janie Santana suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy?

11:45 , Megan Sheets

Rudy Farias’ mother Janie Santana may be suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a private investigator who tried to track him down told The Independent.

Brenda Paradise said that early on she felt many of Ms Santana’s claims about her son’s disappearance in 2015 didn’t add up, and says his mother probably lied to rake in thousands of dollars in public donations.

Ms Paradise told The Independent that when she first got involved with the case days after the missing person’s report was filed, she became aware that Ms Santana had created a GoFundMe page claiming that her son had been diagnosed with cancer.

She said she didn’t see any evidence that the diagnosis was genuine, and was unsure how much money the fundraiser attracted.

After Mr Farias’ case began attracting attention, the cancer fundraiser “quietly went away.” She said she mentioned the page to the Houston Police Department (HPD).

After Mr Farias was reported missing, Ms Santana set up a second fundraiser with the goal of making $75,000 to “help find Rudy”. She received just over $2,000 before the page was shut down this week.

Days after Mr Farias disappeared, Ms Paradise said she attended a community fundraiser organised to aid the search.

She told The Independent Ms Santana showed up two hours later, pocketed approximately $2,000, and then left within 20 minutes.

“I don’t know what she’s trying to get money for but it’s been a money grab the whole way.” Ms Paradise told The Independent.

Why do Quanell X and police have different accounts of the same interview?

09:45 , Rachel Sharp

While it is now clear that Rudy Farias’ disappearance was a fraud, what remains unclear is what he did and what he may have suffered during the mysterious eight-year time gap.

On Wednesday, Mr Farias was interviewed by Houston Police investigators.

Following the meeting, he was led out of the building by community activist Quanell X.

Quanell X told reporters that the 25-year-old claimed he had suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of his mother over the past eight years.

“I heard horrific things from that young man, and I didn’t want him to see me shedding tears but I couldn’t hold [them] back,” Quanell X told reporters. “No child should ever be treated like that by their own mother.”

He claimed Mr Farias said Ms Santana abused him, forced him to take hallucinogenic mushrooms and kept him hidden in his home all the while continuing to claim he was missing.

But, his version of events was contradicted by Houston police on Thursday who said that Mr Farias did not tell investigators he had been abused.

Lieutenant Christopher Zamora, a detective with Houston Police Department (HPD)’s missing persons unit, said that “we do take all allegations seriously and any new information or facts that we receive will be investigated”.

But Quanell X doubled down on the abuse claims in an interview with The Independent.

“I believe that Rudy is absolutely a victim,” he said after the briefing.

“The kid was distraught ... absolutely distraught,” Quanell X said of Mr Farias’ demeanour in the police interview. “He went back and forth; he acted like a teenager, then he would act 20...is he 23 or 25? He went back and forth between like a child state to a mature state.”

Quanell X went on to accuse police of “trying to hide from conducting a shady sham investigation”.

“It’s all confusing as hell to me now,” he said. “I think they’re revictimising the kid all over again. I believe he needs extensive medical, psychological help and treatment.”

Where is Rudy Farias’ mother now?

07:45 , Megan Sheets

Rumours are swirling that Rudy Farias’ mother Janie Santana is “on the run” following explosive abuse claims.

A neighbour reportedly called 911 on Thursday night to report seeing Ms Santana leave her home in Houston just after midnight.

It came hours after police confirmed that Ms Santana had lied about her son being missing for eight years - but refuted abuse claims by local activist Quanell X.

Ms Santana had speculated on Wednesday that she would be arrested before authorities announced that prosecutors are not planning to press charges.

Her current whereabouts are unknown.

PI says her ‘jaw dropped’ when she learned the truth about Rudy Farias

04:45 , Megan Sheets

A private investigator who tried to track down Rudy Farias has told The Independent of her shock at learning that his mother Janie Santana will not face charges for lying about the disappearance for eight years.

Brenda Paradise began working on the case three days after Mr Farias was reported to have gone missing in 2015, and devoted hundreds of hours to finding him.

Ms Paradise said that early on she felt many of Ms Santana’s claims about her son’s disappearance didn’t add up, and that his mother probably lied to rake in thousands of dollars in public donations.

She said she wasn’t surprised when Mr Farias turned out to have been with his mother all along. But her “jaw dropped” when she heard police would not be pressing charges.

“If somebody had held a little blonde girl hostage all those years, police would have been all over this case.”

Read more from The Independent’s Bevan Hurley:

Was Rudy Farias’ mother suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy?

Watch: Police announce Janie Santana not facing charges

02:45 , Megan Sheets

How did police not find the ‘missing teen’ if he was at home all these years?

Sunday 9 July 2023 22:45 , Megan Sheets

Neighbours and family members have come forward saying that they knew Rudy Farias was not missing, yet for eight years the young man was still considered missing.

Houston police admitted that they had multiple interactions with both the 25-year-old and his mother during the time he was allegedly missing.

And yet police failed to uncover the deception for eight years.

In a press conference on Thursday, authorities said that they had received tips and leads over the years about Mr Farias – including lines of inquiry that he was not missing at all.

During follow-ups, police obtained statements from friends, relatives and neighbours.

Mr Farias also had multiple interactions with Houston police over the eight years – but both he and his mother, Janie Santana gave different names to officers, police said.

Ms Santana even claimed that the man was her nephew – and not her son, police said.

She “remained adamant that her son Rudy was still missing”.

It remains unclear what steps police took – during those encounters – to determine whether or not the man before them was who he said he was.

‘Surrogate parent’ to Rudy Farias reveals years-long suspicions about his mother

Sunday 9 July 2023 20:45 , Megan Sheets

A woman who considered herself a “surrogate parent” to Rudy Farias before he was reported missing has spoken out following revelations that the disappearance was a sham.

Jacque Brunswick lived in the same Houston neighbourhood as Mr Farias in the years before his mother, Janie Santana, claimed he vanished in March 2015.

In a Friday appearance on NewsNation, Ms Brunswick revealed she has long believed that Ms Santana was involved in the disappearance.

“I honestly had always thought that Janie had something to do with it, had her hands in it some way or somehow,” she said.

“After a couple of years I started grieving him because I truly thought that he was dead.”

Ms Brunswick described Mr Farias as a “timid” teenager who appeared to be afraid of his mother.

‘Surrogate parent’ to Rudy Farias reveals years-long suspicions about his mother

ICYMI: The neighbour claims that helped expose sham disappearance

Sunday 9 July 2023 19:45 , Megan Sheets

Just days after 25-year-old Rudolph “Rudy” Farias was found eight years after he went missing, neighbours came out to say he’d been at home all along.

Kisha Ross, a neighbour of Mr Farias and his mother, Janie Santana, said she had seen, and spent time, with Mr Farias in the time he was supposedly missing.

“He used to come in my garage, chill with my cousin, son, and daughter,” Ms Ross told ABC 7. “That boy has never been missing.”

Ms Ross said that her family knew Mr Farias as “Dolph” and that he often spent time at their home, though they had not seen him recently.

Ms Santana said neighbours were likely confusing Mr Farias with her nephew but neighbours insisted the photo showed “Dolph”.

“I am confused right now,” Ms Ross said.

Another neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous to ABC 7, said he knew and saw Mr Farias living at his mother’s house for years.

“I was just shocked someone over here was missing, and we see him,” the neighbour said. “It’s shocking to everyone.”

Watch: Rudy Farias’ mother predicts her arrest

Sunday 9 July 2023 18:45 , Megan Sheets

Janie Santana told neighbours she thought she was going to be arrested after claiming her son Rudy Farias had been “found” eight years after he was reported missing.

In a video clip, obtained by KPRC 2, Ms Santana is seen speaking to her neighbours as she got out of her car on Wednesday.

“When he first went missing, he didn’t report it to the police,” Ms Santana said.

“And they are trying to say that he might have done some crimes. Which he didn’t. And now they want to arrest me. Because they said I was hiding him.”

The following day, police confirmed that Mr Farias had never actually been missing and that his mother had lied to investigators.

However, officials said prosecutors were not planning to file charges against Ms Santana.

In an update on Friday, police cautioned that the investigation is active and ongoing.

AT 6: Neighbors shared this video of a conversation with Rudy Farias’ mom last night. She talks about police wanting to arrest her for hiding her son. I spoke w/ Rudy’s cousin who called police in 2018 after family saw him at his moms house. @KPRC2 https://t.co/2PKNJi6z9q pic.twitter.com/GDCVsYkeEu
— KPRC 2 Corley Peel (@KPRC2Corley) July 5, 2023

Rudy Farias is staying with family friend ‘until he knows he can cope by himself'

Sunday 9 July 2023 17:45 , Megan Sheets

Rudy Farias is currently staying with a family friend as a media firestorm continues over his sham disappearance.

The 25-year-old’s aunt, Pauline Sanchez, told the Houston Chronicle that he’s taking time away from his mother Janie Santana to “adjust” and will call his family when he’s “ready”.

“Nobody’s going to go around him and he’s not coming out of that place until there’s no media around and he’s free and comfortable,” Ms Sanchez said.

“It won’t be until he knows he can cope by himself.”

Rudy Farias’ mother may face legal action from GoFundMe after she profited from fake disappearance story

Sunday 9 July 2023 16:45 , Megan Sheets

Rudy Farias’ mother could soon face legal action from GoFundMe after she raked in thousands of dollars in donations by falsely claiming that her son was missing.

“GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform and cooperates with law enforcement investigations and those accused of wrongdoing,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Newsweek.

“Our trust and safety team takes swift action against those who exploit the generosity of our community, including with the outright removal of a fundraiser, banning an account for violating our terms of service, and even pursuing potential legal recourse.”

Rachel Sharp reports:

Rudy Farias’ mother may face legal action from GoFundMe

Houston Police ask for public to ‘respect the investigative process'

Sunday 9 July 2023 15:45 , Megan Sheets

Houston Police presented a bevy of shocking information on the Rudy Farias case at a press conference on Thursday, revealing that he was never actually missing and that his mother would not face charges for lying to investigators.

Since then, officials have been quiet on the case.

The last police statement came on Friday, with a “reminder” for the public that the investigation is still ongoing.

A reminder to our media partners and citizens: This missing person investigation is active & ongoing.

We ask that everyone respect the investigative process.

We will not have further comments at this time.

Any updates will be posted here.#hounews https://t.co/CPYwiHTZnH
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) July 8, 2023

Activist accuses Janie Santana of ‘catfishing’ online

Sunday 9 July 2023 14:45 , Megan Sheets

A local Houston activist has claimed that Rudy Farias’ mother engaged in “catfishing” on social media.

Janie Santana regularly used photos of other people on a collection of fake Facebook profiles, the activist known as Grizzy told the New York Post.

In one instance as recently as last week - while her son’s sham disappearance was making international headlines - she used a photo of a blonde country singer, Grizzy claimed.

“She created a family of catfish profiles to support her posts because nobody likes her stuff or comments back, so she’s created a lot of fake profiles to circle her,” she said. “She’s using it for love, for personal gain, for money — whatever she needs it for. She’s a very calculating person.”

Grizzy claimed that Ms Santana contacted her after the mother claimed her son had been found “safe” to ask for help with online trolls.

Four major unanswered questions in the Rudy Farias case

Sunday 9 July 2023 13:45 , Megan Sheets

What exactly happened to Rudy Farias over the past eight years, why his mother sought to deceive authorities and how she seemingly succeeded for all this time continue to be something of a mystery.

Here, The Independent’s Rachel Sharp seeks to unpack some of the many unanswered questions in the case:

Rudy Farias’ return turned out to be a lie. These unanswered questions remain

Why is Janie Santana not facing criminal charges?

Sunday 9 July 2023 11:45 , Megan Sheets

Despite police now saying they know that the eight-year disappearance was nothing but a fraud, Rudy Farias’ mother Janie Santana is not currently facing any criminal charges.

In Thursday’s press conference, Lt Zamora said the district attorney had declined to bring any charges in the case “at this time”.

“Being missing is not a crime,” Lt Zamora said, insisting that – under Texas law – Mr Farias was classed as an adult when he went missing.

When pressed that making fictitious reports to police was a crime, authorities stood by the “integrity” of the investigation and said that it is ongoing.

Rudy Farias ‘confidante’ shares suspicions about mother

Sunday 9 July 2023 07:45 , Megan Sheets

A woman who considered herself a “surrogate parent” to Rudy Farias before he was reported missing has spoken out following revelations that the disappearance was a sham.

Jacque Brunswick lived in the same Houston neighbourhood as Mr Farias in the years before his mother, Janie Santana, claimed he vanished in March 2015.

In a Friday appearance on NewsNation, Ms Brunswick revealed she has long believed that Ms Santana was involved in the disappearance.

“I honestly had always thought that Janie had something to do with it, had her hands in it some way or somehow,” she said.

“After a couple of years I started grieving him because I truly thought that he was dead.”

Ms Brunswick described Mr Farias as a “timid” teenager who appeared to be afraid of his mother.

‘Surrogate parent’ to Rudy Farias reveals years-long suspicions about his mother

Where is Rudy Farias’ mother now?

Sunday 9 July 2023 05:45 , Megan Sheets

Rumours are swirling that Rudy Farias’ mother Janie Santana is “on the run” following explosive abuse claims.

A neighbour reportedly called 911 on Thursday night to report seeing Ms Santana leave her home in Houston just after midnight.

It came hours after police confirmed that Ms Santana had lied about her son being missing for eight years - but refuted abuse claims by local activist Quanell X.

Ms Santana had speculated on Wednesday that she would be arrested before authorities announced that prosecutors are not planning to press charges.

Her current whereabouts are unknown.

WATCH: Quanell X alleges Rudy Farias was ‘abused'

Sunday 9 July 2023 03:45 , Megan Sheets

Houston police and activist Quanell X give different accounts of the same interview

Sunday 9 July 2023 01:45 , Rachel Sharp