Baby Emmanuel Haro has been missing for a week, and there is growing desperation to unravel the mystery about what happened to him.
Here us what we know so far:
What do we know about the disappearance?
Emmanuel was reported missing Aug. 14 under suspicious circumstances after his mother said she was attacked and knocked unconscious outside a Big 5 store in Yucaipa, according to a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department media press release.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived and searched the area but could not find Emmanuel. The boy was last seen wearing a black onesie, authorities said.
Sheriff’s officials did not disclose whether his mother, Rebecca Haro, had suffered any visible injuries during the attack. During her interview with detectives, officials said, she was confronted with inconsistencies from her initial statement and stopped speaking with investigators.
What are authorities saying?
The Sheriff’s Department said it cannot rule out foul play in the case but has not named any suspects.
Since then, authorities have searched the Cabazon home where the family lives and said that the parents have stopped cooperating with the investigation.
The department has declined to answer direct questions.
Over the weekend, investigators and police dogs searched the family home in Cabazon. The Sheriff’s Department says it has served multiple search warrants at the home and is reviewing surveillance footage from areas of interest in the case.
What is the boy’s family saying?
An attorney for the boy’s father, Jake Haro, insisted the family is still cooperating, and Rebecca Haro only refused to take a polygraph when it was requested by law enforcement.
Authorities said she gave contradictory statements, but Vincent Hughes, who is representing Jake Haro in a separate criminal case, said she was overcome with emotion because of her missing son.
Hughes said law enforcement provided a “vague statement” about Rebecca Haro’s inconsistencies but has not elaborated or clarified that the parents are cooperating with the investigation. The Sheriff’s Department has not issued a missing person flier, Hughes said, and has not provided Emmanuel’s parents with any updates about the case.
The couple surrendered their phones to investigators and allowed detectives to search their Cabazon home, Hughes said. Investigators also took two iPads, including one that had not been taken out of the box, and three Xbox video game consoles. Their vehicle was also taken by investigators as part of the search for their son, according to Hughes.
In an interview with KTLA-TV on Friday, Rebecca Haro, who had a black eye, pleaded for the return of her son. She said that she had planned to go to the Big 5 Sporting Goods store Thursday evening to buy a mouth guard for her older son.
“If you know anything, please come forward or take him to the cops,” she said. “Please come and bring my son back. I’m begging you.”
“Whoever took my son, please return him,” Jake Haro told KTLA. “We just want him back. We won’t do anything to you. Just give us our son. Keep him safe, don’t hurt him, make sure you feed him and change him.”
What do we know about the family’s background?
According to court records, Jake Haro was convicted in June 2023 of willful child cruelty for an incident involving another child in Hemet. He’s due to appear in court on Sept. 2 for a violation of his probation, and Hughes is defending him in that case. Jake Haro said he was giving the baby girl a bath in a kitchen sink and accidentally dropped her but a doctor’s report said the girl’s injuries did not fit that narrative.
That case is separate and has no connection to the Haros’ missing child, Hughes said.
“Jake has a criminal past,” Hughes said. “We’re not running from that, but the facts of that case are a lot different than the facts of this case. And one crime doesn’t mean that you’ve committed every other crime known to man, especially to take your own child.”
“They just want their son back, they want people to put in the same effort that they’re using to question them to go out and search for Emmanuel,” Hughes told The Times.
Where does the investigation stand?
Officials have offered few details.
Authorities confirmed Wednesday that Riverside County child protective services removed a 2-year-old child from the home of the same couple that reported the infant missing last week.
It’s unclear what prompted officials to remove the 2-year-old. A spokesperson for Riverside County declined to comment, citing state confidentiality laws.
Over the weekend, the family received a tip about an alleged sighting of the boy in Bakersfield. They notified the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Hughes said, but have received no updates about the tip. A Sheriff’s Department spokesperson said investigators are aware of the reported sighting but they were offered no specific information about the location for the reported sighting.
The Uvalde Foundation for Kids, a national child advocacy group, retracted its offer to help search for the boy and a $5,000 reward for information about his disappearance. The group said it was concerned about Rebecca Haro’s abrupt decision to stop speaking with the advocacy group and the sheriff’s investigators.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division at (909) 890-4904. Callers wishing to remain anonymous should contact WeTip at (800) 78-CRIME (27463) or go to wetip.com.
The post Baby Emmanuel Haro has been missing for week: Trying to unravel the mystery appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
