Rudy Farias, Who Vanished 8 Years Ago, Has Been Found near Church with Late Brother’s Necklace

• Rudolph "Rudy" Farias IV was finally found after going missing eight years ago.
• He's currently in a hospital in a bad state and hardly speaks.
• His mother believes the necklace that belonged to Rudy's late brother kept him alive.

On July 3, 2023, reports revealed that Rudolph "Rudy" Farias IV was found on July 1, 2023, after he disappeared eight years ago in 2015. The last time his family saw him was when he went to walk his two dogs on March 6, 2015, near his Houston, Texas home, at Tidwell Road and Park Drive.

Only one of the dogs returned without its leash before the second one returned in the same condition. Rudy disappeared that day at age 17 and was never heard of again until age 25.

Rudy suffered from depression, especially after he lost his older brother in 2011 in a motorcycle accident. Brenda Paradise, a private investigator hired by the Farias family to find the missing boy, said this in April 2015:

"He watched his best friend die right in front of him."

Paradise shared how Rudy's brother had been his best friend and Rudy went through a lot for someone his age. Despite his state when he was recently found, the young man still had his late brother's necklace.

How Was Rudy Found and What Did He Look Like?

According to ABC13's Brooke Taylor, a stranger called 911 after finding the young man unresponsive outside a church. The missing man couldn't say much except a few words before he balled himself up in a fetal position and shut down completely.

On the day Rudy was found, Stephenie Renee Southerland Martinez took to her Facebook account to emotionally reveal details about the missing man's discovery. Martinez explained that Rudy was her nephew.

The family member shared how the missing man was in the hospital in "pretty bad shape" with cuts, small holes, soft tissue tumors, and swelled soles on his feet. Rudy was also bruised with scrapes and cuts on his body, some old and others fresh.

The young man had dried up blood on his hair and head and was dark in complexion, with Martinez noting how he was "almost unrecognizable." She said it was apparent he'd been through a lot and was abused.

The family member confessed that it broke their hearts and it was difficult to see the young man in the condition he was in. She noted how only God knew what he'd endured while away from home for so long.

She further shared that Rudy was in pain and flinched when his family members tried to hug or touch him in false anticipation of being beaten. Considering what he'd gone through, the doctor revealed that it was expected.

Rudy also believed he was 14, and that his name was Julio Torres. Doctors advised against correcting him and to play along until he started getting proper treatment to start his recovery and healing.

Martinez noted that the young man clearly wasn't the same person they knew before, and he was thin and frail with underdeveloped hands and fingers that were smaller than hers. The Farias family hopes Rudy would open up more when comfortable and wouldn't feel like they would harm him.

They hope with time, he would start resembling the person he was before with the necessary assistance. The family is aware of Rudy's long recovery ahead and is currently inquiring about the resources he would need.

They believe with the support and love they will give him, Rudy would get there. For now, the family is grateful for the "miracle" that brought him back home where he belongs.

According to Martinez, Rudy is easily triggered so they are cautious around him. She also revealed that he didn't recall much, but it was expected.

Back when Rudy went missing, the Houston Police Department didn't suspect foul play in his disappearance. However, friends and family were concerned, especially when time kept passing by without finding him.

A backpack was found, and a catering company said they'd seen Rudy, and then different sightings were reported from different places.

Doctors and therapists are expected to talk to Rudy, and his mother hopes to get some answers from her son, whose current pictures of his hospital stay she shared with the media. However, for now, she is just happy that her missing son was found alive.

Rudy's mother stayed by her son's side at the hospital as he received treatment. She believes that her son who went missing as a teenager had one thing that kept him alive over all those years.

What kept Rudolph alive?

Rudy's mother believed his older brother's necklace kept him going. When he disappeared in 2015, he had been wearing the necklace, and he was still wearing it when they found him.

Following Rudy's return, Tim Miller, the director of Texas EquuSearch, who had been searching all over for the missing man, said:

"This certainly was a miracle."

Miller noted how tips came in about Rudy's whereabouts until one day, they just stopped. After eight years of going missing, the man who was part of the search party confessed that he never anticipated that Rudy would be found alive.

When the young man disappeared, his family revealed that he'd also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and asthma. Miller and his team had gone out of their way to find the missing man, speaking to the family and detectives by his house.

A backpack was found, and a catering company said they'd seen Farias IV, and then different sightings were reported from different places. Miller acknowledged how people had many questions and that lots of investigations would be done to figure out what had happened, how, and where.

So far, it wasn't clear where the young man had been or why he left in the first place. However, what was most important at the moment for his family was that he'd been "located safe."

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