A Sexually Violent Predator Is Still Missing
I'm angry, and I think you should be too.
Early Friday morning, around 3:30 a.m., the GPS monitor on sexually violent predator Merle Wakefield went into "tamper mode" while he was working at Amazon in Rancho Bernardo. When Liberty Healthcare, the private company the State of California pays to supervise him, finally got there, the monitor was off and Wakefield was gone.
More than two days later, he is still out there. Nobody can tell us where he is.
Who is Merle Wakefield?
Wakefield was convicted in 1980 and 1991 of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and rape by force. The state has formally designated him a sexually violent predator. That label only goes to offenders who have a diagnosed mental disorder that makes them a danger to others. In other words, the state itself says he's likely to hurt someone again.
And in November 2024, the state let him out anyway.
How Did We Get Here?
I want to be very clear about who is responsible, because this didn't happen by accident. It happened because of a system that was built to fail, and every piece of that system is controlled by the state.
Sacramento wrote the law. State law allows sexually violent predators to petition for release into our neighborhoods through the Conditional Release Program. Our communities get no veto and no real say. We get a comment period, and then the placements happen anyway.
The Department of State Hospitals picks the location. Not the Sheriff. Not the District Attorney. Not the County. Not the families who have to live next door. The state chooses where these predators go, and time after time it has chosen our backcountry and rural communities: Borrego Springs, Campo, Jacumba, Julian and Boulevard.
The state hired Liberty Healthcare to watch him, and Liberty lost him. When Wakefield was released, we were told he would be monitored by GPS and escorted by a security employee around the clock. Those were the promises that were supposed to make this safe. So I'm asking the question every family in this county deserves an answer to: where was that supervision at 3:30 Friday morning? How does a man under 24-hour watch simply take off his monitor and walk away?
Liberty Healthcare collects millions of taxpayer dollars to do one job. On Friday, it failed at that job, and the public is the one left dealing with the fallout.
The courts approved his release over our objections. When Wakefield came up for release, residents objected. I objected. We warned that releasing him with no fixed home, moving him from place to place, set a dangerous precedent. The release was ordered anyway.
The Result: Families Living in Fear
Right now, parents across San Diego County are checking their locks twice. They're keeping their kids closer at the bus stop and the park. Neighbors are sharing his photo in group chats because they have no idea where he could turn up.
That fear is real, and it's completely justified. This is what it looks like when the state puts the rights of dangerous predators ahead of the safety of our families.
And There Are More On The Way
Wakefield is not the only one. More placements are moving forward in our county right now.
Another sexually violent predator is pending placement in Borrego Springs, a community that has already been forced to take on more than its share. After what happened Friday, that placement should be stopped immediately. The state cannot keep promising supervision it has just proven it can't deliver.
After Friday, how can anyone look those communities in the eye and promise them this system works?
What I'm Doing About It
I've fought these placements for years, and I'm not stopping now. Here's what I'm pushing for:
Keeping sexually violent predators in secure state facilities. These people do not belong back out in the community. They belong in a state hospital or in jail.
Real local authority. Communities should have a real say over placements, not just a comment period that gets ignored.
A full, public accounting from the state and Liberty Healthcare. I want to know exactly how Wakefield got loose, how long it took anyone to respond, and what supervision was actually in place.
Immediate notification to local law enforcement and the public the moment a monitor is tampered with.
What You Can Do Right Now
If you see Merle Wakefield, DO NOT approach or contact him. Call 9-1-1 immediately, or call the San Diego County Sheriff's Office at (858) 868-3200.
Wakefield is 5'10", about 230 pounds, with brown eyes.
Please share this email with your family and neighbors so everyone knows who to look out for.
Whether he's caught tonight or next week, the system that let this happen is still in place. I'll keep fighting until it changes.
San Diego County District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond | September 27, 2026 | San Diego County Board of Supervisors
EDITOR'S NOTE: As of 11AM Sunday, September 27th, the San Diego County Sheriff's Office latest update reported that this Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) is still on the loose with his whereabouts unknown.
His last KNOWN location was in Rancho Bernardo (San Diego). He disappeared at 3:30AM on Friday, September 25. For FOUR days, the County Sheriffs have "been working diligently to locate him." Now that's a reassuring thought.
He could have traveled north, south, east or west. He could be in your neighborhood. Rancho Bernardo is only 30 miles from Bonita-Sunnyside. Keep your doors and windows locked until they locate Merle Wakefield. If you see him, call 9-1-1. Do not approach him.
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