A Texas mother will not be facing charges after Houston police said that Rudy Farias, a man who vanished eight years ago as a teen, was never actually missing.

“During the eight-year time frame where he was missing, investigators followed up on many tips, leads, collected evidence proving that Rudy was not missing during the eight-year period,” Lt. Christopher Zamora with the Houston Police Department said during a Thursday news conference.

“Many of these facts included contacts and statements with relatives, friends, neighbors and medical professionals.”

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Janie Santana reported her son, then 17, missing in 2015, saying Farias had gone out to walk his dogs and never returned.

This week, Farias was reportedly found unconscious outside of the Immaculate Heart Church in southeast Houston. He had cuts, bruising, and a bloody head.

Zamora said during Thursday’s press conference that both Farias and his mother had engaged with Houston Police officers multiple times within the past eight years. They deliberately supplied officers with false names and birth dates, aiming to mislead them and ensure that Rudy would remain missing.

Since Farias was never actually missing and has not revealed any abuse so far, there is no reason to charge Santana at this point. However, Police Chief Troy Finner added that are currently treating Farias as a “potential victim.”

“I’m not going to say he’s a victim or not,” Finner said. “We’re going to treat this just as we do with any potential victim or victim, and we’re going to give respect to everybody that’s involved.”

Finner added that Farias is safe with his mother and is now a “grown man.”

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[Featured image: Rudy Farias in 2015/Texas Center for the Missing]