A Texas man who was found eight years after he went missing has been unable to speak with investigators because he is non-verbal, according to his mother.
Rudy Farias, then 17, was walking his two dogs in northeast Houston when he vanished on 6 March 2015, prompting a years-long desperate search for the missing teen. Over the weekend, law enforcement informed Mr Farias’ mother Janie Santana that her 25-year-old son was found unconscious and beaten outside a church.
Mr Farias had several cuts and bruises across his body, Ms Santana told ABC News, and has only been able to utter a few words when relatives attempted to speak with him.
The Houston Police Department (HPD) has confirmed that Mr Farias has not spoken to detectives but is scheduled to be interviewed on Wednesday.
Details about Mr Farias’ disappearance or where he has been for the past eight years are now being investigated by HPD.
“What we do know is at the time of his recovery, a good Samaritan located him unresponsive and immediately called police and 911. My son Rudy is receiving the care he needs to overcome his trauma, but at this time, he is nonverbal and not able to communicate with us,” Ms Santana said in a statement.
The news that Mr Farias had been found was first reported in a tweet on Saturday by the Texas Center for the Missing, which was handling public communications on behalf of his family.
A missing poster for Rudolph ‘Rudy’ Farias IV is shown during the Missing Person Day event at City Hall Sunday, January 3
“We do know when a loved one goes missing this is the day all families hope for and dream of – REUNIFICATION. We are thankful that Rudy has been found and receiving the care he needs,” the centre said in a statement Monday.
Houston police, along with Texas Equusearch, a civilian search and recovery team, looked for Mr Farias when he went missing in 2015.
Texas Equusearch reported at the time that he suffered from depression and anxiety, and he might have been disoriented because he wasn’t taking his medication. Mr Farias also had asthma and walked with a slight limp because of an injured right leg.
“According to his mother he is very wary around strangers,” Texas Equusearch said in 2015.
Details about Mr Farias’ disappearance or where he has been for the past eight years are now being investigated by HPD— (Bella Ninos)
Law enforcement reportedly told family members that Mr Farias may have been abducted and sold for human drug trafficking, according to local news station KHOU.
“He loves with all his heart, so that’s why we know that he wouldn’t just get up and leave on his own. That’s not him,” Ms Santana told the outlet in a 2015 interview. “It’s a nightmare that you want to wake up from.”
Authorities received a call in 2018 from a relative claiming they had spotted Mr Farias behind their home, but officers who responded to the scene did not find him.
