Authorities have seized a car belonging to the father of a missing 7-month-old baby and are following up on reported sightings of the child in an investigation that began last week when his mother said he was kidnapped in the Inland Empire.
Details about why the car was seized were not immediately available. The new development in the search for Emmanuel Haro comes nearly a week after the boy’s mother told the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department that he was kidnapped after she was attacked outside a sporting goods store in Yucaipa.
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NBCLA attempted to contact a family member at the family home, but did not receive a response.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday it is aware of a reported sighting of Emmanuel Haro in Kern County, but details about the report and location were not immediately available.
The agency issued a statement Wednesday morning.
“We know the community is deeply concerned about this case and we will continue to provide information, to the extent it does not jeopardize the investigation,” the agency said. “Our investigators have followed up on the reported sightings of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro, but he has not yet been located.
“While Emmanuel’s father has retained an attorney, if the parents choose to work with detectives, we welcome their cooperation as we continue efforts to locate Emmanuel.”
The statement also mentioned a fire reports at a property near the Haros’ home in Cabazon, saying there is no indication the fire is related to the disappearance of Emmanuel.
The investigation has unfolded over the past week, beginning with the reported kidnapping Thursday in the parking lot of a Big 5 sporting goods store.
“I took him out of the car seat and laid him on the chair. I had his diapers here, and someone said, ‘Hola.’ I couldn’t turn, and I don’t remember nothing. I got up from the floor and didn’t see my child. Someone took him from me,” mother Rebecca Haro said last week.
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Rebecca Haro was “confronted with inconsistencies in her initial statement and declined to continue with the interview.”
Deputies returned to the family’s Cabazon home Tuesday and appeared to visit neighboring properties. They were seen speaking with the infant’s father, Jake Haro, outside the family’s home Sunday night.
“We start from within the home and we work our way out,” said private investigator Moses Castillo, a former member of the LAPD who investigated crimes against children for 20 years. “So anybody and everybody that had access to this child gets a very thorough interview. They’re very methodical in these type of searches. So you might see that. And they might even set up some special observations and following people that may be involved to see where they go, what they do.”
According to law enforcement, Jake Haro was convicted in 2021 for cruelty to a child and in 2024 for being a felon in possession of a handgun.
An arrest warrant was filed for Jake Haro in the child cruelty case in October 2018 involving a baby girl. Authorities responded to his home after the girl was admitted to a hospital with multiple broken bones. According to the court documents, Jake Haro told investigators that he accidentally dropped the girl on a sink as he bathed her. Doctors reported rib and skull fractures, and a brain hemmorage, according to the court documents.
Jake Haro pleaded guilty to felony child endangerment and was sentenced to felony probation for four years and ordered to serve 180 day in jail on a work release program, the Riverside County District Attorney said.
The couple also has a 2-year-old child, who has since been taken into custody by Riverside County Child Protective Services, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Community member gathered Sunday night for a candlelight vigil for Emmanuel outside the Big 5 sporting goods store in Yucaipa, located about 70 miles east of Los Angeles.
A description of the attacker was not available. Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department at 909-387-8313.
