HOUSTON — The case of 25-year-old Rudolph “Rudy” Farias IV made headlines across the country last week. He was reported missing eight years ago, and last week was "discovered" lying on the ground outside a southeast Houston church.

What You Need To Know

  • Houston police during a news conference on Thursday said they were deceived for years about a man who was reported missing in 2015, when he was a teenager

  • Rudolph "Rudy" Farias IV, 25, turned up outside a Houston church last week. He received treatment at a hospital 

  • Police on Thursday said it appears Farias returned home the day after he was reported missing. Officers made contact with him on several occasions while he was listed as missing, but he and his mother provided them with false names

  • Neither Farias nor his mother are facing charges. An investigation is ongoing, however 

During a press conference Thursday that yielded few answers, Houston police said that he was never truly missing and in fact returned home the day after he apparently ran away.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said that officers made contact with Farias on multiple occasions while he was listed as missing, but that he and his mother deceived them by providing false names.

However, as it stands, neither Farias nor his mother, Janie Santana, are facing false report charges. An investigation is ongoing, however.

When he was discovered last week, Farias was said to have cuts and bruises. It was speculated that he had been beaten. He declined transport to a hospital but was later taken to one by his mother.

His mother in a statement said he was mostly nonverbal and would only say a few words before going into fetal position.

Farias was reported missing after he was out walking his dogs. Detectives spoke with Farias and Santana on Wednesday.

“After investigators talked with him yesterday, it was discovered that Rudy returned home the following day, on March 8, 2015,” Lt. Christopher Zamora said during a news conference. “The mother, Janie, continued to deceive police by remaining adamant that Rudy was still missing.”

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.

In the years following, there were several possible sightings of Farias, according to a private investigator hired by the teen′s mother 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.

In recent days, there have been rumors, based on claims made by an activist who said he overheard a police interview, that Farias may have been sexually abused by his mother. However, police repeatedly said that when he was interviewed, Farias said that was not the case.

Farias is currently at home with his mother, police said.

Finner declined Thursday to answer questions about the mental health of Farias or his mother and would not say what 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.