Southwest
The unusual case of Rudy Farias and where he is now 1 year after he was found
Rudy Farias’ bizarre story is one that swept the nation.
The details of what happened to Farias have been scarce since his discovery. He and his mother have both stayed out of the spotlight, sharing very little about what happened during those eight years.
The story starts on March 7, 2015. The day that Farias allegedly went missing. His mother, Janie Santana, told Houston police that her son went on a walk and never returned. He was 17 years old at the time.
Rudy Farias was revealed to be living with his mother over the span of time he was thought to be missing. (Texas Center for the Missing)
GYPSY ROSE SAYS SHE DIDN’T WANT ABUSIVE MOTHER DEAD DESPITE HELPING KILL HER
Farias was found injured eight years later outside a church in southeast Houston on June 29, 2023. According to Houston police investigators, Farias returned to his home the day after he had gone missing, per ABC13 Houston.
“What we do know is at the time of his recovery, a good Samaritan located him unresponsive and immediately called police and 911,” his mother said in a statement released after he was found. “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.”
During a press conference on July 6, 2023, police said both Santana and Farias gave fake names in the interactions they had with various officers over the years.
Farias’ public comments have been slim to none since the day he was found outside the church, but he has revealed select details of what was happening over the eight years when he was thought to be missing.
THE DARK SIDE OF TRUE CRIME
“She never locked me in or handcuffed me or anything like that,” Farias said, per ABC13 Houston. “I had free will to leave. It just felt like brainwashing me. It just kept confusing me, the way she would manipulate me into saying, ‘You’re going to get arrested.’”
There have been multiple allegations of Farias being sexually abused by Santana during this eight-year period. These allegations have come from his family members, as well as Houston community activist Quanell X, who claimed that in the presence of a detective, Farias reported the abuse, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Police said that there were no reports of sexual abuse made by Farias, per ABC13 Houston.
On July 6, 2023, there was a conference with Houston police detailing information on the Rudy Farias case. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Farias himself has also addressed these claims, saying that while boundaries were crossed, he was never sexually assaulted.
“I used to have to sleep in her bed sometimes. I don’t remember why. Boundaries, she would push or make me uncomfortable, and I would say stop, and she was like, ‘Well, why, why, why? I didn’t do anything wrong. So, I would just be like OK, OK,” Farias told ABC13 Houston.
HOW DO TRUE-CRIME PODCASTS IMPACT PUBLIC INTEREST IN CRIMINAL CASES?
“She locked me in there pretty much, mentally,” Farias said per the outlet. “She was my only parent, the only person I really ever had besides my brother. When I lost my brother, I didn’t have anyone to teach me how to live or to have confidence or trust in myself. So, I depended on my mom all my life.”
In 2011, Farias’ half-brother died in a motorcycle crash, according to ABC13 Houston. A few years later, in 2014, his father, who was an officer with the Houston Police Department, took his own life.
During the time he was in isolation, he was hidden from the public, even when his family was over to visit.
“I would have to listen to my family be happy and cheerful on the other side of a door, and I would be like, ‘I want my family. I want people. I just want communication,’” Farias said, per ABC13 Houston. “It’s like I lived in prison. It’s like I lived in a jail my whole life. I just wanted to be free. I wanted to have my own job. I just wanted to live my life. I just wanted to love somebody, have someone else that would actually love me. I struggled to understand my emotions.”
Many neighbors claimed to have seen Farias in the years he was allegedly missing, according to FOX26.
Texas man Rudy Farias remained a missing person for eight years, but Houston police determined that he’d actually been living with his mother. (FOX26)
Developments in Farias’ story have been minimal in the past year since he has been found, but he has expressed his desire to live a normal and happy life.
“I just want to live my life. I want to have a family, a car, a house. I just want to live my life and be happy,” Farias said, per ABC13 Houston.
According to the source, he no longer lives with his mother and doesn’t want contact with her.
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Los Angeles, Ca
Los Angeles High School locked down as police search for armed juvenile
Los Angeles High School was placed on lockdown Wednesday morning as police searched for three juveniles, including one believed to be armed with a handgun.
Officers responded to the area of Olympic and West boulevards around 8:15 a.m. following a report of an assault with a deadly weapon involving four minors.
One of the minors involved in the assault was believed to be armed with a handgun, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Miller confirmed to KTLA.
Los Angeles High School was placed on lockdown as police responded to the incident.
One suspect was taken into custody, but Miller said police are still searching for the three remaining juveniles and the handgun.
A perimeter has been set up around the school as officers search for the remaining suspects.
“Today, the school initiated a lockdown as we received reports of a possible weapon on campus,” a Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson said. “We took immediate action, including notifying the Los Angeles School Police Department and Region West Operations for further investigation. The Los Angeles School Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department are conducting a search of the campus for weapons. We will provide additional information once it is available.”
No information was provided about the assault victim or any injuries sustained in the incident.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Los Angeles, Ca
O.C. Uber customer says driver asleep in Tesla on 405 Freeway
An Orange County rideshare customer captured cellphone footage of his Uber driver seemingly asleep behind the wheel of a Tesla traveling along the 405 Freeway earlier this year.
The incident, according to the customer who reached out to KTLA, occurred March 24 while he was on a ride to Costa Mesa just before 7:30 p.m.
In the footage, the driver, wearing a coat and tie, is seen with his head resting against the headrest while remaining completely still, even as the customer moves closer with the camera.
Toward the end of the video, one of the driver’s hands appears to rest near his waist rather than on the steering wheel.
The customer told KTLA he filed a complaint with Uber but was informed he would not be able to find out whether any action was taken regarding the incident. He also said he contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which reportedly declined to accept the video evidence and told him deputies would have needed to witness the driver asleep themselves.
Videos of Tesla drivers appearing to be asleep have become increasingly common.
More recently, footage of an apparently napping Tesla driver on the 5 Freeway was captured by witnesses in southbound lanes near Camp Pendleton.
As far back as February 2023, video obtained by KTLA showed two separate drivers appearing to be asleep behind the wheel in the span of a week, one in Los Angeles and the other in Temecula.
KTLA’s San Francisco sister station, KRON, also obtained footage of an East Bay driver apparently asleep behind the wheel of a Tesla Model 3 on Highway 4 in March.
According to Tesla’s guidelines, drivers using the vehicle’s Full Self-Driving mode are required to remain attentive and ready to take control of the car at any moment.
In past incidents, the California Highway Patrol has told KTLA that drivers must be awake, conscious and sober to legally operate a moving vehicle.
The electric vehicle maker has been at the center of numerous controversies but remains the top-selling brand in California for the fourth year in a row. Tesla’s Model Y far outsold any other new vehicle in the state in 2025.
KTLA has reached out to Uber about the March 24 incident and is awaiting a response.
Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. mayor, California governor races shift focus to November election; Republicans scrutinize process
The frontrunners in the California governor’s race and Los Angeles mayor’s race are looking ahead to the November general election, as some Republicans scrutinize the state’s ballot-counting process.
Votes continue to be counted, but with the majority of results in, news outlets are already calling clear winners in both races.
So are the candidates, with several making appearances Tuesday to officially kick off their general election campaigns.
Mayor Karen Bass led the mayoral primary race with 34% of the vote, and the Associated Press called Progressive City Councilmember Nithya Raman in second place Monday with 29%, overtaking Spencer Pratt.
Bass joined supporters in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday morning, saying she won Tuesday and will win again in November, despite challenges including the Palisades Fire and the city’s ongoing homelessness crisis during her first term.
“It’s hard for me to express how much it means to me to have all of you here, to feel your embrace, to feel your power, and to feel your encouragement because we’re going to have four more years,” she said.
Meanwhile, there is no word on when Raman will make an appearance, but she took to social media to declare victory, saying she was incredibly proud and encouraging voters to join her movement.
“We got here because people across Los Angeles believe in something better: a city where Angelenos can afford to live, work, and build a future,” she said.
Raman had made a last-minute entry into the race, after she had endorsed Bass for reelection.
The mayoral race has historical markers, with Bass being the first Black woman to hold the post, and Raman could be the first South Asian woman on the job.
The election will test whether voters in the heavily Democratic city want to move further to the political left to address long-running problems of homelessness, buckled streets and sidewalks and climbing rent and home prices.
Meanwhie, in the California gubernatorial primary, NewsNation’s Decision Desk called Steve Hilton a winner with 25% of the vote, behind Xavier Becerra’s almost 28% of the vote.
Hilton held a press conference Tuesday morning at the Registrar’s Office, kicking off his general election campaign ahead of the November runoff.
While Hilton said he is not officially declaring victory until the Associated Press calls the race, he used the opportunity to discuss voter reform.
“You can send in your mail-in ballot for a week after the election,” he said. “And here’s the theory. We have to really understand, this simple example shows you just how broken this system is.”
Hilton called for California to limit mail ballots to those who request them, rather than sending them to all registered voters.
The President Donald Trump-backed candidate will face Democrat Xavier Becerra, who is also expected to kick off his campaign Tuesday.
Becerra leaned on his more than 35 years in public office, including as state attorney general and U.S. health secretary, and argued that he was the most qualified candidate in a crowded field.
Trump has condemned California’s elections, citing voter fraud. So far, the Registrar’s Office has defended the process, saying the allegations were made prior to the election.
In California, vote-by-mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received within seven days after the election, as well as any provisional ballots cast, will be counted.
KTLA’s Angeli Kakade and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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