Police hunt sexually violent predator who vanished after GPS ‘tamper mode’ alert
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who → hunt → alert
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.
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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.
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device → work → Office
Liberty Healthcare, the state contractor supervising him, responded to the location and found the device removed and Wakefield gone.
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Wakefield → supervise → location
The company notified the sheriff’s office and San Diego police.
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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.
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it → say → him
“We have been working diligently to locate him,” the agency said.
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agency → work → him
It asked the public to report any sightings or information that could help find Wakefield.
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that → ask → Wakefield
“It’s been more than 48 hours since Merle Wakefield took off his GPS monitor and walked away.
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Wakefield → take → monitor
He’s still out there,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond wrote Sunday on Facebook.
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Desmond → ’ → Facebook
He called Wakefield “a convicted child molester and violent rapist” and accused the state of saying nothing publicly about his disappearance.
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He → call → disappearance
Wakefield is wanted for violating the terms of his conditional release, the sheriff’s office said.
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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.
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He → convict → agency
Desmond said Wakefield was gone by the time Liberty Healthcare arrived after the GPS alert.
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Healthcare → say → alert
“That’s how easy it was,” he wrote in an earlier post.
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he → ’ → post
“The state released him into our community in November 2024 and promised he’d be monitored and supervised.
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he → release → November
Less than two years later, he’s missing and wanted.”
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he → miss → ?
Local officials had warned about Wakefield’s release before it happened.
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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.
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KUSI → grant → time
It was the third attempt to place him in San Diego County.
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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.
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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.
“It’s a shell game that puts a community at risk,” Vaus told Fox 5/KUSI about the transient release.
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Vaus → oppose → release
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office also opposed releasing Wakefield without a fixed residence, citing concerns about limited monitoring and supervision.
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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.
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people → tell → release
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Report → start → news
State Sen. Brian Jones raised his own concerns about where Wakefield would stay.
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Wakefield → raise → concerns
He told Fox 5/KUSI that Wakefield might end up on the streets or in a hotel at taxpayer expense.
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Wakefield → tell → expense
“Supposedly, he’s going to have a tracking device,” Jones said at the time.
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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.
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% → 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.
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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.
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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.
The outlet also reported that Wakefield’s court order called for 24-hour in-person supervision wherever he stayed.
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he → say → 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.
“I’ve fought these placements from day one,” he wrote.
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he → renew → day
“These people do not belong back out in the community.
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people → belong → community
They belong in a state hospital or in jail.
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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.
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Wakefield → keep → office
Authorities warned anyone who sees him not to approach or contact him and to call 911 or local law enforcement.
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who → warn → 911
Fox News Digital reached out to Senator Jones’ office and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
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Digital → reach → comment
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