San Diego County Sheriff's Offce
Authorities in California are searching for a convicted child sex offender who allegedly removed his GPS monitor and disappeared while on conditional release.
What we know:
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said early Friday morning they received a "Tamper Mode" alert from the GPS monitoring device of 69-year-old convicted felon Merle Wakefield.
Dig deeper:
Deputies said Wakefield was working in the Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego while being supervised under the state’s Conditional Release Program. Liberty Healthcare responded to his last known location and discovered that his GPS monitor had been removed and Wakefield was gone.
The backstory:
Wakefield was convicted in 1980 and 1991 of crimes including lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and rape by force. He was placed in California’s Conditional Release Program in November 2024.
What they're saying:
"It’s been more than 48 hours since Merle Wakefield took off his GPS monitor and walked away. He’s still out there," San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond wrote Sunday on Facebook.
Desmond described Wakefield as "a convicted child molester and violent rapist" and criticized the state over what he said was a lack of public communication about his disappearance.
Why you should care:
Wakefield is 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighs about 230 pounds and has brown eyes, according to the sheriff’s office. Authorities are warning anyone who sees him not to approach or make contact and instead call 911 immediately.
The Source: This story was written with information provided by the San Diego Sheriff’s Office and Fox News Digital. This story was reported from Orlando.