Still missing: the search for Merle Wakefield
A court-designated sexually violent predator removed his GPS monitor at a Rancho Bernardo worksite Friday morning and walked away. As of Sunday, he was still at large.
RANCHO BERNARDO: A convicted child sex offender designated a sexually violent predator was still missing Sunday, after his GPS monitor sounded a Tamper Mode alert at a San Diego worksite at about 3:30 a.m. Friday. Merle Wakefield, 69, was working in Rancho Bernardo when the device alerted, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.
Wakefield is supervised by Liberty Healthcare, the state contractor that monitors him as part of California's Conditional Release Program. The company responded to the location, found the device removed and Wakefield gone, and notified the Sheriff's Office and San Diego police. He is wanted for violating the terms of his conditional release. The Sheriff's Office said Sunday it "shares the community's concerns over Merle Wakefield's disappearance" and was still actively looking for him. "We have been working diligently to locate him," the agency said.
The record
Wakefield was convicted in 1980 and 1991 of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and rape by force, according to the Sheriff's Office. A judge granted him a transient release in October 2024, and the court order called for "24-hour in-person supervision," according to the New York Post. He has been on conditional release since November 2024. He is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 230 pounds, with brown eyes.
The reaction
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, writing on Facebook, said the state had released Wakefield into the community in November 2024 with a promise of monitoring and supervision. "It's been more than 48 hours since Merle Wakefield took off his GPS monitor and walked away. He's still out there," Desmond wrote. He called Wakefield "a convicted child molester and violent rapist" and accused the state of saying nothing publicly about his disappearance.
The Sheriff's Office asks the public to report any sightings or information that could help find Wakefield. If you see him, do not approach him: contact local law enforcement or call 911, or make an anonymous report to San Diego County Crime Stoppers.
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