A missing 17-year-old had a heartbreaking reaction when he was finally found eight years later by his family.
Rudy Farias, who disappeared in 2015, now 25, while walking his dogs, was miraculously found beaten and bruised Thursday by a Good Samaritan who called 911 according to his mother, Janie Santana.
For eight years, his family desperately searched for him and remained hopeful that he would be found alive and safe.
He was found last Sunday — and is currently nonverbal and recovering in the hospital, his family says., and flinches at physical touch, fearing harm, and wrongly believes he is age 14.
They wrote in a post on Facebook: "He flinches if you try to touch him or hug him, thinking we are going to strike him.
"He thinks his name is Julio Torres and he's 14. The doctors said not to correct him, to just go with it for now until he can begin to receive further treatment, to begin healing and recovery.
"Rudy is in pretty bad shape."
Rudy was 17 when he mysteriously disappeared near his family’s home. The alarm was raised as soon as his dogs returned home without the teen.
His mother said he always wore a necklace that belonged to his brother, who was killed in a motorcycle crash in 2011.
When Farias was found unresponsive and covered in cuts and bruises outside a church, he was still wearing the same necklace, Santana told ABC 13.
At the time of his disappearance, it was shared with the public that Mr Farias was diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety and had likely stopped taking his medication.
His mother has said she believes her son, who was bleeding from his head when he was found next to a church, may have been abused.
She further told KTRK that "it would be a long healing journey but is thankful her son has been found alive."
Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding Mr Farias’ disappearance and are trying to find out where he has been for the last eight years.
Rudy is scheduled to be interviewed by police on Wednesday.
In the wake of Rudy's disappearance, search and recuse non-profit Texas EquuSearch said: "Rudy suffers from depression, PTSD and anxiety. He has attempted suicide in the past.
"It is possible he is disoriented as he has not been taking his medication. Rudy is also asthmatic but is not in possession of his inhaler. According to his mother he is very wary around strangers."
Texas EquuSearch director Tim Miller is one of several people involved in the original search for Rudy.
