A convicted sex offender who disappeared in San Diego County in late September was found dead in a riverbed roughly a month after authorities launched a search, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said this week.
Deputies responding Monday morning to a report of human remains identified the man as 69-year-old Merle Wakefield. The county medical examiner’s office is expected to perform an autopsy to establish the cause and manner of death, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities did not release additional information, citing the continuing investigation.
Wakefield was working at an Amazon facility in Rancho Bernardo when his court-ordered GPS monitor sent a “Tamper Mode” alert early Friday, Sept. 25.
Liberty Healthcare, the state-contracted company responsible for supervising Wakefield, traveled to the warehouse and discovered that the ankle monitor had been removed. Wakefield was missing, prompting the company to notify the Sheriff’s Office.
Police said Wakefield was convicted in 1980 and 1991 of lewd or lascivious acts involving a child younger than 14 and rape by force. He had been placed in a conditional release program in fall 2024 and was being supervised by Liberty Healthcare.
The California Department of State Hospitals hires Liberty Healthcare to oversee certain offenders who have been convicted of serious crimes and diagnosed with significant mental health conditions. With court approval, participants can live in the community while receiving treatment under the contractor’s supervision.
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Wakefield’s disappearance intensified criticism from local officials who had urged the state to impose stricter limits on where he could reside.
“That’s how easy it was,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said. “The state released him into our community in November 2024 and promised he’d be monitored and supervised. Less than two years later, he’s missing and wanted.”
A San Diego judge approved Wakefield’s release as a transient in October 2024 rather than requiring him to live at a designated address, Fox 5/KUSI reported. It marked the third attempt to place him in San Diego County.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office had objected to releasing Wakefield without permanent housing, arguing that the absence of a fixed residence could undermine effective monitoring and supervision.
California Republicans have criticized the state’s conditional release program for years. A state audit determined that about 36% of participants had violated the conditions of their release.
In comments to Fox 5, the California Department of State Hospitals defended the program and noted that courts make the final decision on whether a person classified as a sexually violent predator can be conditionally released. Safeguards include GPS monitoring, unannounced visits to homes and surveillance.