San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond issued a statement on social media Sunday.
“It’s been more than 48 hours since Merle Wakefield took off his GPS monitor and walked away. He’s still out there,” Desmond posted on X. “A convicted child molester and violent rapist is loose in San Diego County this weekend, and the state that put him here has said nothing. If you see him, do not approach. Call 911.”
Desmond’s post was a follow-up to a post on Friday.
“The unfortunate reality is that what happened with Merle Wakefield could have happened at any time,” he wrote. “As long as the state keeps releasing sexually violent predators into our neighborhoods, families are one tampered ankle monitor away from this. These people don’t belong anywhere near our communities. They belong locked up in a secure state facility. Period.”
According to a news release issued in November 2024 by the SDSO, Wakefield “was conditionally released from Coalinga State Hospital. Wakefield is registered as a SVP with the California Department of Justice and the County of San Diego. He has served several years in state prison for his crimes before his civil commitment to a state mental hospital for sex offenders.”
