A young man who vanished in Texas while walking his dogs more than 8 years ago has been found safe in what a search organization is calling a "miracle."
Rudy Farias, who was 18 at the time of his disappearance on March 6, 2015 in Houston, has been tracked down, the Texas Center for the Missing announced Sunday.
"After 8 long years, Rudy has been located safe," the organization said in a tweet. "Please continue to keep his family in your prayers as Rudy recovers in the hospital."
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System previously said Farias "was last seen walking his dogs in the vicinity of Tidwell and C.E. King in Northeast Houston in the evening."
"His dogs were recovered; however, Rudy has not been located," it added on a page about his disappearance at the time.
The now 26-year-old recently was located by authorities after someone found him unresponsive outside a church and called 911, KTRK is reporting, citing Farias’ mother.
His mother said Farias was found with cuts and bruises covering his body and is thankful that he is alive, according to the station.
Farias’ whereabouts between March 2015 and remain unknown.
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"How did this happen? We believe in miracles and this certainly was a miracle," Tim Miller, director of the missing persons search organization Texas Equusearch, told KPRC. "I can’t even tell you how many times we searched and how many leads and tips came in and they just kind of faded away and now all of a sudden, this."
"In the beginning, we met with the family and detectives out there, and we found a backpack. We talked to someone with a catering truck that said they saw him, then there were different possible sightings in different places," Miller continued.
"I think now there’s a lot of questions. There’s a lot to investigate to kind of see what happened, where it happened, how it happened," he added.
Texas Equusearch previously said on its website that "Rudy suffers from depression, PTSD and anxiety," and that he has "attempted suicide in the past."
"It is possible he is disoriented as he has not been taking his medication. Rudy is also asthmatic but is not in possession of his inhaler," the site said. "According to his mother he is very wary around strangers."
