HOUSTON – Who is Janie Santana?
For years, police said Santana led people to believe her 25-year-old son, Rudy Farias, was nowhere to be found. Investigators said she reported him missing eight years ago when he was 17 years old. But according to HPD, Farias was never actually missing.
Court records filed in Harris County show Santana has gone by at least five different last names.
“Both Janie, Rudy’s mother, and Rudy himself, gave fictitious names while interacting with various patrol officers,” said Lt. Chris Zamora with HPD’s Missing Persons Unit.
Records also show Santana has been married multiple times. At least one of those marriages was voided because an ex claimed she was married to at least two other people at the same time. KPRC 2 Legal Analyst Brian Wice said that is illegal, but likely won’t play a factor in her son’s case.
“This investigation is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. The investigation is a search for truth, not rush to judgment,” said Wice.
Detectives said no charges have been filed at this time, pending a full investigation. Santana is also not charged at this time for filing fake reports or providing fake names
“At the end of the day, those are misdemeanors and yes it matters but the district attorney’s office made the judgment call that it wasn’t appropriate to file those charges, I agree with that, but that doesn’t mean that mom is out of the woods yet,” said Wice.
HPD said the case is active and ongoing.
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