A convicted sexually violent predator has been missing in San Diego County since removing his GPS monitor Friday, Sept. 25, and authorities are asking the public for help finding him.
Merle Wakefield, 69, slipped off his GPS device around 3:30 a.m. while working at a warehouse in Rancho Bernardo, about 20 miles from Carlsbad, as the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported. Liberty Health Care, the private company contracted by the state to supervise Wakefield around the clock, received a "tamper mode" alert and responded to the scene. Staff found the device removed and Wakefield gone.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Office said on X that all law enforcement agencies in the region were alerted, along with the public and media.
It is the first time a sexually violent predator in San Diego County has removed a GPS device and gone missing, according to authorities.
Wakefield was convicted in 1981 of committing lewd acts with a minor under 14 and convicted in 1990 of rape by means of force, according to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office. After his release from prison in 1998, he was formally designated a sexually violent predator and committed to the Department of State Hospitals for treatment. He was conditionally released from Coalinga State Hospital and has been on conditional release since November 2024, CBS 8 reported. He has a lifetime requirement to register as a sex offender.
Wakefield had been living in Campo in eastern San Diego County, according to sheriff's Lt. Aloha Peters.
He is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, 230 pounds, with a shaved head and brown eyes.
The sheriff's Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Task Force and Fugitive Task Force have been searching since his disappearance, San Diego County Sheriff's Office Watch Commander Lt. Joe Berry told City News Service on Sunday, Sept. 27. Berry said deputies across the county have a be-on-the-lookout alert and "are keeping their eyes and ears open."
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said in a Sept. 27 statement that a convicted predator was loose in the county and criticized the state for its silence. Desmond urged residents not to approach Wakefield and to call 911 if they see him.
As of Monday, Sept. 28, Wakefield remained at large. The county-wide alert covers Carlsbad.
The sheriff's office warned the public not to approach Wakefield. Anyone who sees him should call 911. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
