A convicted child sex offender was still missing Sunday, two days after his GPS monitor sounded a tamper alert at a San Diego worksite and supervisors arrived to find him gone, authorities said.
asserted
authorities → convict → worksite
Merle Wakefield, 69, was working in Rancho Bernardo when his device alerted to "Tamper Mode" at about 3:30 a.m. Friday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
uncertain
device → work → Office
Liberty Healthcare, the state contractor supervising him, responded to the location and found the device removed and Wakefield gone.
asserted
Wakefield → supervise → location
The company notified the sheriff’s office and San Diego police.
asserted
company → notify → office
The sheriff’s office said Sunday it "shares the community’s concerns over Merle Wakefield’s disappearance" and was still actively looking for him.
asserted
it → say → him
"We have been working diligently to locate him," the agency said.
asserted
agency → work → him
It asked the public to report any sightings or information that could help find Wakefield.
uncertain
that → ask → Wakefield
"It’s been more than 48 hours since Merle Wakefield took off his GPS monitor and walked away.
asserted
Wakefield → take → monitor
He’s still out there," San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond wrote Sunday on Facebook.
asserted
Desmond → ’ → Facebook
He called Wakefield "a convicted child molester and violent rapist" and accused the state of saying nothing publicly about his disappearance.
asserted
He → call → disappearance
Wakefield is wanted for violating the terms of his conditional release, the sheriff’s office said.
asserted
office → want → release
He was convicted in 1980 and 1991 of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and rape by force, according to the agency.
uncertain
He → convict → agency
Desmond said Wakefield was gone by the time Liberty Healthcare arrived after the GPS alert.
asserted
Healthcare → say → alert
"That’s how easy it was," he wrote in an earlier post.
asserted
he → ’ → post
"The state released him into our community in November 2024 and promised he’d be monitored and supervised.
asserted
he → release → November
Less than two years later, he’s missing and wanted.
asserted
he → miss → ?
Local officials had warned about Wakefield’s release before it happened.
asserted
it → warn → release
A San Diego judge granted him a transient release in October 2024 rather than placing him in a designated home, Fox 5/KUSI reported at the time.
asserted
KUSI → grant → time
It was the third attempt to place him in San Diego County.
asserted
It → place → County
An earlier proposal would have placed Wakefield in a Poway home near a school and park, prompting residents to rally against it, according to the outlet.
uncertain
proposal → place → outlet
Poway Mayor Steve Vaus opposed that location and argued that allowing Wakefield to live without a fixed address would make it harder for the public to know where he was.
asserted
he → oppose → address
"It’s a shell game that puts a community at risk," Vaus told Fox 5/KUSI about the transient release.
asserted
Vaus → ’ → release
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office also opposed releasing Wakefield without a fixed residence, citing concerns about limited monitoring and supervision.
asserted
Office → oppose → monitoring
Spokesperson Tanya Sierra told the outlet that the Department of State Hospitals and Liberty Healthcare needed to find suitable housing where people granted conditional release could be closely monitored.
uncertain
people → tell → release
State Sen. Brian Jones raised his own concerns about where Wakefield would stay.
asserted
Wakefield → raise → concerns
He told Fox 5/KUSI that Wakefield might end up on the streets or in a hotel at taxpayer expense.
uncertain
Wakefield → tell → expense
"Supposedly, he’s going to have a tracking device," Jones said at the time.
asserted
Jones → go → time
Jones had also called for an audit of California’s sexually violent predator program, the outlet reported.
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outlet → call → program
The audit found that about 36% of participants had violated the terms of their release.
asserted
% → find → release
Jones criticized the program’s cost and argued that the state should keep sexually violent predators in hospitals rather than place them in communities.
asserted
state → criticize → communities
The California Department of State Hospitals pushed back on criticism of the release process, telling Fox 5/KUSI that the court ultimately decides whether someone designated a sexually violent predator can be conditionally released.
asserted
someone → push → Fox
The department said its supervision program used GPS monitoring, unannounced home visits and surveillance, and that breaking the rules could send someone back to a state hospital.
uncertain
breaking → say → hospital
The outlet also reported that Wakefield’s court order called for 24-hour in-person supervision wherever he stayed.
asserted
he → report → supervision
That report was published before the hearing to finalize his release.
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report → publish → release
Desmond renewed his objection after Wakefield disappeared.
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Wakefield → renew → objection
"I’ve fought these placements from day one," he wrote.
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he → fight → day
"These people do not belong back out in the community.
asserted
people → belong → community
They belong in a state hospital or in jail.
asserted
They → belong → jail
As long as Sacramento’s law keeps putting them in our neighborhoods, families are going to keep paying the price."
Wakefield is 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighs 230 pounds and has brown eyes, according to the sheriff’s office.
uncertain
Wakefield → keep → office
Authorities warned anyone who sees him not to approach or contact him and to call 911 or local law enforcement.
asserted
who → warn → 911
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
