UPDATE
Aug 26, 2025 2:28 PM CDT
The parents of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro have been charged with murder, four days after their arrest in California. Jake and Rebecca Haro, who told police the boy was kidnapped in an attack outside a sporting goods store on Aug. 14, have also been charged with filing a false police report, NBC Los Angeles reports. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said Friday that investigators believe the boy is dead. Jake Haro, who has a previous felony conviction for child cruelty, was seen Sunday wearing a prison jumpsuit as he assisted crews searching hillsides in Moreno Valley for the boy's body, reports KTLA.
Aug 22, 2025 1:20 PM CDT
Police were skeptical from the start, and now the parents of a missing California infant have been arrested on suspicion of murder, reports NBC Los Angeles. Jake and Rebecca Haro were arrested at their home in Cabazon on Friday. The move comes eight days after the reported kidnapping of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro, who remains missing, per USA Today.
Rebecca Haro initially told investigators that her son was abducted outside a sporting goods store in Yucaipa, per the Los Angeles Times. She described being assaulted and knocked unconscious while changing Emmanuel's diaper near her car, recounting that she awoke with a black eye to find her baby missing. But the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department says she stopped cooperating with investigators when "confronted with inconsistencies in her initial statement."
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Meanwhile, police have executed search warrants at the family's home, brought in K9 teams, and seized a vehicle belonging to Jake Haro for evidence processing. While tips have led police as far as Kern County, about 180 miles north, no trace of Emmanuel has been found.