69-year-old Merle Wakefield removed his GPS tracker while at work in Rancho Bernardo, according to Sheriff’s deputies.
SAN DIEGO — A sexually violent predator went missing in Rancho Bernardo and was still at large Saturday, according to authorities.
69-year-old Merle Wakefield was wearing a GPS device Friday at 3:30 a.m. while at work in Rancho Bernardo when it alerted authorities that it was in “tamper mode,” according to a news release issued by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
Wakefield is supervised by Liberty Health Care as part of the State’s Conditional Release Program. LHC notified the SDSO and San Diego Police Department after LHS personnel responded to the scene and discovered that Wakefield’s GPS had been removed and Wakefield was no longer at the location, deputies said.
Wakefield is wanted for violating the terms of his conditional release. He was convicted of lewd acts with a minor under 14 in 1981 and rape by force, violence, or fear in 1990. After his 1998 release, he was designated as a Sexually Violent Predator and has been on conditional release since November 2024, the SDSO said.
Wakefield is 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs 230 pounds, and has brown eyes.
“If you see Wakefield, DO NOT APPROACH OR CONTACT HIM. Contact your local law enforcement agency or call 911,” the statement said.
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond issued a response Friday on social media.
“The unfortunate reality is that what happened with Merle Wakefield could have happened at any time. As long as the state keeps releasing sexually violent predators into our neighborhoods, families are one tampered ankle monitor away from this,” Desmond posted on X. “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, “Wakefield, a Sexually Violent Predator, 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.”
Wakefield was released into the community as a transient by court order. He was temporarily housed in the East County community of Jacumba Hot Springs under the Conditional Release Program. Wakefield has a lifetime requirement to register as a sex offender and was under 24-hour supervision by Liberty Health Care, a private company contracted by the State of California.
The 2024 SDSO news release also said Wakefield had several conditions that are enforceable by Liberty Health Care personnel, including having a security employee who accompanies him on a 24/7 basis.
