Rudy Farias Finally Tells What Happened to Him during the Last 8 Years: ‘I’d Been Trying to Get Away'

The man found eight years after he went missing, Rudy Farias, opened up about his experience while living with his mother, who lied to the police about his whereabouts. He revealed what he experienced inside his mother's home while everyone thought he was missing.

A week after being found unconscious and unable to talk, 25-year-old Rudy Farias opened up about what happened to him during the past eight years. He went missing on March 6, 2015, while walking his dogs.

The then-17-year-old went near Tidwell and Park Drive in northwest Houston with his dogs but didn't return home. When he went missing, his mother filed a report, and the authorities soon began searching for him.

The police couldn't find the teenager for years until he was recently spotted at a church on June 29, 2023. According to the authorities, Farias had returned to his mother, Janie Santana, the day after he went missing, but she didn't report it to the police.

In his recent interview with Fox 26 Houston, where his face was blurred, Farias spoke about the time he was kept in his mother's home, saying it was "like a prison." The young man's voice trembled several times as he recalled the traumatic events.

What Happened to Rudy over the Last Eight Years?

"Mentally, she held me against my will," Farias said as his voice cracked while recalling how he spent his life at his mother's place during the last eight years. He said she never restrained him physically but mentally stopped him from leaving the house.

The young man recalled what happened when someone visited the house. According to him, Santana would ask him to hide in his room and lock the door so no one would sense his presence.

Since Farias and Santana lived with his grandmother, who, according to him, had multiple medical conditions, including dementia, his family would often visit the house to meet the elderly lady. He recalled the heartbreaking memory:

"I would just have to listen to my family be happy and cheerful on the other side of the door."

While talking to the news reporters, Farias said whatever happened "felt like brainwashing" because he was never physically stopped from leaving the house. Only his mother's words kept him from leaving or going to the police. She would tell him that he would get arrested because he had a speeding ticket.

Farias further explained his behavior by stating that his mother was the only family member in his life after his brother's demise, which made her the only person he trusted. He even said he experienced "Stockholm syndrome" because he couldn't leave the house despite wanting to flee.

"It's like I lived in jail my whole life. I just wanted to be free. I wanted to have my own job. I just wanted to live my life," Farias said. He also revealed that he only learned new things online during the last eight years, and not speaking to people affected his communication skills.

After unwillingly staying inside the house for eight years, Farias said he left the house one day and walked towards the locality where he grew up, the place where he was found unconscious. Soon after he was found, news reports claimed his mother sexually abused him.

When FOX 26 Houston asked him about it, he said, "I used to have to sleep in her bed sometimes." However, the young man stated she didn't sexually abuse him, saying she never "forced herself" on him but did things that made him "uncomfortable."

What Does Rudy Think of His Mother?

After leaving the house, and finally getting a chance to live independently, Farias said he felt "at peace." He revealed his desire to find a job, start a family, and live independently. However, there was no space for his mother in his new life.

"I don't want any contact with her," Farias said while talking about his mother. While she tried to contact him, he didn't want to continue their relationship after everything that happened during the last eight years.

While speaking about his time at her house, he recalled having negative thoughts because of her behavior. "I'd been trying to get away from my mom," he said before revealing that he would hear his mother's words in his head telling him not to do things. Her words made him believe the police would catch him if he left the house.

After such a tumultuous eight years, Farias plans on starting a new life away from his mother. He does not plan to stay in touch with her and wants to live a normal life, work a job, and drive a car.

Click here to read what Farais' mother said earlier while speaking to the media after her "scared" son revealed she kept him "slave" for eight years.