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

Rudy Farias’ former neighbour has described how he appeared afraid of his mother before she reported him missing in 2015.

Jacque Brunswick considered herself a “surrogate parent” to Mr Farias before he allegedly vanished in Houston over eight years ago, she told NewsNation.

Ms Brunswick said she became close with the then-teenager 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 nervous around his mother, Janie Santana.

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

Read more:

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Rudy Farias case is why his mother Janie Santana 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.

On 22 March 2015 – around two weeks after he was reported missing – a GoFundMe was launched to help track down the missing teenager.

“It has been over a month and Rudy is still Missing,” it read.

“Please help us find RUDY FARIAS IV! Rudy went out to walk his 2 puppies on March 6th 2015 and has not been seen nor heard from since then ! Rudy’s 2 puppies WERE FOUND but not Rudy! He suffers from both physical and mental disabilities, so we need to get him home ASAP!... We are asking for donations to be able to offer a reward for Information leading us TO Rudy as well as medical expenses for Rudy since he has been missing since March 6th,and each day that passes...means his health is deteriorating gravelly.

“Rudy’s mother is a single parent who has already lost her eldest son in 2011 and Rudy’s father in 2014 !!! She needs financial assistance since she is unable to work understandably so with her son missing! The bills are pilling up and Rudy’s mother’s health has also deteriorated as she is devestated ....mentally...physically and emotionally utterly exhausted!!

“Please dig deep into your hearts and put yourselves in Rudy’s mother place... she cannot do this Alone! Give what you can and know that God will bless you and all that you do for her! We Believe that Rudy IS STILL ALIVE AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT! God Bless you and know that All monies Will be used accordingly towards the REWARD and the needs of the Search.”

Several people dug deep and donated a total of $2,025 to the fundraiser, titled “Donate to Help Find Rudy Farias IV,” in the hopes it would help to bring Mr Farias home. The funds all went to Ms Santana who profited from the claim.

Yet, while she may have reaped some financial benefit from the scam, no donations have been made to the GoFundMe since 2015 – raising questions as to whether or not this may have been a solid motive.

During Thursday’s press conference, Houston police were asked whether mental illness could have perhaps played a part in what transpired.

Police declined to comment on that possibility, saying they are “not going to go into that now” but that the investigation is continuing.

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.”

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.

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.

Read more:

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.

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:

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.

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.