A California man who was arrested for the murder of his seven-month-old son was seen helping investigators search for the child’s remains.
Jake Haro, 32, was spotted in an orange jumpsuit working with deputies from both San Bernardino and Riverside counties scouring an area off the 60 Freeway in Moreno Valley for his son Emmanuel’s remains.
Investigators with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department were also seen using cadaver dogs, but the search efforts concluded Sunday night without recovering Emmanuel’s remains.
Search efforts will now continue for the infant, who is presumed dead despite his parents reporting that he was kidnapped.
Rebecca Haro, 41, the boy’s mom, claimed she was attacked from behind in front of a Big 5 retail store in Yucaipa on August 14.
She told police she regained consciousness with a black eye and no memory of what had happened, and realized her son was gone.
But inconsistencies began to emerge in her story, and police ultimately determined the kidnapping never happened.
‘It is believed Emmanuel is deceased, and the search to recover his remains is ongoing’ as authorities review a ‘large amount of surveillance video’ from areas of interest, San Bernardino Sheriff Shannon D. Discus said in a statement.
Jake Haro was seen on Sunday helping deputies scour an area off the 60 Freeway in Moreno Valley for his son’s remains
The search efforts concluded Sunday night without recovering the boy’s remains
Jake, 32, and Rebecca Haro, 41, are facing murder charges in the disappearance of their seven-month-old son, Emmanuel
Witnesses had said they saw Rebecca with a black eye on August 3 – more than a week before the alleged kidnapping.
When the mother was then confronted about the inconsistencies, she refused to continue speaking to deputies.
Officials have since conducted ‘extensive’ searches in the area of Yucaipa and Cabazon and have also served ‘several search warrants at the Haro home,’ ABC 7 reports.
The parents were then arrested for the child’s murder following the seizure of Jake’s car and police analyzing digital and electronic evidence.
They were seen being led from their Cabazon home Friday morning, when Jake walked barefoot while his wife wore shorts, a t-shirt and sandals.
Rebecca kept her head low and avoided eye contact with the camera as she was loaded into the back of a police car.
The arrests came just weeks before Jake was due back in court for a parole violation that could send him back to prison.
He was previously arrested in Hemet, California on October 12, 2018 and pleaded guilty to felony willful child cruelty in June 2023.
The couple had originally claimed the young boy was kidnapped on August 14
Investigators with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department were also seen using cadaver dogs
Multiple people familiar with the crime said his relationship with the child’s mother didn’t end well and he beat his 10-month-old daughter so badly she suffered a brain injury.
Jake has since claimed he was giving his baby girl a bath in the kitchen sink and accidentally dropped her, though a doctor’s report said the girl’s injuries did not fit that narrative, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The father was ultimately jailed for 180 days and is still working through his 48 months on probation with a 72-month suspended sentence, according to Riverside County Superior Court records.
He was also required to attend a child abuser treatment program, according to the Orange County Register.
Yet officials were also reportedly forced to remove a two year old child from Jake and Rebecca’s care. The circumstances of the removal remains unclear.
‘Jake has a criminal past,’ Vincent Hughes, an attorney representing him in the child abuse case, told the LA Times. ‘We’re not running from that, but the facts of the case are a lot different than the facts of this case.
‘And once crime doesn’t mean that you’ve committed every other crime known to man, especially to take your own child.’
Hughes then insisted that Jake and Rebecca ‘just want their son back’ and ‘want people to put in the same effort they’re using to question them to go out and search for Emmanuel.’
Jake is pictured being arrested from his home on Friday morning
Rebecca kept her head low and avoided eye contact with the camera as she was loaded into the back of a police car
Jake, who last year was acquitted of illegally owning a gun and ammunition as a convicted felon, also insists that the family is still cooperating with authorities.
He said his wife only refused to take a lie detected test when it was requested by law enforcement, and Hughes claimed that the inconsistencies in Rebecca’s story were a result of her being so overcome with emotion over her missing son.
She was even begging for Emmanuel to be returned in an interview with KTLA just hours after his supposed disappearance.
‘He’s a happy boy,’ Rebecca said. ‘He was a healthy baby, he was crawling, he was kicking, he was playing with his toys. Whoever took our son, please give him back.’
‘Whoever took my son, please return him,’ Jake added.
‘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.’
Rebecca has claimed she was attacked from behind in front of a Big 5 retail store in Yucaipa, California, and when she awoke, her son was gone
Police blocked off the street as they searched the Haro’s home for clues about the missing boy
Police were seen sifting through garbage at the house for any evidence leading to Emmanuel’s remains
Hughes has said the couple has since surrendered their phones to investigators and allowed detectives to search their home, from where police were seen seizing two iPads – including one that had never been taken out of the box – and three Xbox video game consoles.
Still, questions surrounding the case prompted the Uvalde Foundation for Kids to yank its $5,000 reward for information leading to Emmanuel being found and end its search efforts.
‘We cannot in good conscience, utilize our team and resources when so much is missing in this case,’ it said.
‘Of particular concern to us lies within the inconsistencies in the details and the sudden decision by the mother to end communication with law enforcement and our team.
‘Tell me, what parent would do that who was missing a child? Something is not right in this whole picture.
Friends and family gathered outside the sporting goods store to begin their own search efforts on Friday, armed with flyers they had prepared
Emmanuel is described as weighing about 21lbs, standing about 24 inches tall, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a noticeable cross-eye which his family said was not due to a disability
‘We hope law enforcement will continue to pursue the case so that this precious child may be found and placed in a safe environment.’
But friends and family members have not given up.
They were seen outside the sporting goods store on Friday evening to begin their own search efforts, armed with flyers they had prepared.
Emmanuel is described as weighing about 21lbs, standing about 24 inches tall, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a noticeable cross-eye which his family said was not due to a disability. He was last seen wearing a black Nike onesie.
