Police have confirmed Rudy Farias, the missing man who was "found" eight years after he disappeared, was never actually missing at all.
Farias made worldwide headlines this week after he was "miraculously" found alive after having vanished in 2015, when he was just 17 years old.
He was found by a passer-by unconscious outside a church, with injuries including cuts and bruises all over his body and dried blood in his hair, before he was reunited with his mother.
However, the unbelievable tale soon turned out to be something quite different, as police confirmed Farias was never actually missing at all, and that his mother, Janie Santana, had lied to police about his whereabouts.
Farias had been taken to hospital after he was found, with detectives finally interviewing him and his mother on Wednesday, when the deception finally came to light.
Police confirmed on Thursday that Farias had in fact returned home a day after being reported missing and had been living with his mother for the eight years since.
Lt. Christopher Zamora of the Houston Police Department's homicide division's missing persons department said in a press conference: "[Over the past eight years] investigators followed up on many tips, leads, collected evidence proving that Rudy was not missing during the eight-year period.
"Many of these facts included contacts and statements with relatives, friends, neighbors, and medical professionals."
He added that both Farias and Santana had spoken to police over the years, explaining: "During these contacts, fictitious names and date of births were given, misleading officers, and Rudy would remain missing. In fact, both Janie, Rudy's mother, and Rudy himself gave fictitious names while interacting with various patrol officers.
"After investigators talked with him yesterday, it was discovered that Rudy returned home the following day on March 8, 2015. The mother Janie continued to deceive police by remaining adamant that Rudy was still missing. She alleged her nephew was the person friends and family were seeing coming and going, however, we disputed that."
A community activist, Quannell X, had also come out to claim that Farias had told him that he had been abused by his mother during the past eight years, however, the police statement said that Farias had not reported such claims to them.
They responded to a question during the press conference to confirm: "Based on Rudy's interview, there were no reports of sexual abuse reported," but when directly asked whether there was any possible sexual relationship between the pair, Zamora said it's state law not to release any information related to sexual assault.
They confirmed that the district attorney's office has not currently filed any charges against the pair for making fictitious police reports, but said this could change down the line as it is currently an ongoing investigation.
Farias had "vanished" while walking his dogs in 2015, with both canines later returning home but Santana claimed Farias was never seen again.
He was confirmed to have been "located safe" by the Texas Center for the Missing who confirmed the news on Sunday.
At the time, Santana released a statement saying: "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. We are asking for privacy during this difficult time but will share more details as Rudy continues to heal."
However, neighbors later came out to state that they were never aware Farias was considered missing as they had regularly seen him at his mother's home and that he had even hung out with their children and cousin in their garage.