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Emmanuel Haro disappearance: Police probe 'inconsistencies' in mom's story, dad's history of abuse emerges
Authorities said that a 7-month-old baby, Emmanuel Haro, was reported missing and the search is on.
Emmanuel Haro, a seven-month-old, went missing on Thursday night after his mother was reportedly assaulted outside a retail store in Yucaipa. As per the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were called before 8 pm to the 34000 block of Yucaipa Boulevard, where the child was reported missing.
The child's parents, Rebecca and Jake, were distraught, and went to the Big 5 parking lot – where the alleged kidnapping took place – to see if anyone knew anything that could help them narrow down the search for little Emmanuel.
However, since then, new information has emerged, that casts doubt on the existing narrative of the parents.
Father's past abuse allegations emerge
Some social media posts have now claimed that a woman identifying herself as a former colleague of Jake alleged they previously worked at Walmart and that he had hit one of his kids badly enough in the past to cause serious damage. According to these posts, the woman stated that Jake should be considered the number one suspect.
While a screenshot of the alleged comment is being widely shared across social media, Hindustan Times was unable to locate the original comment on the platform.
It is entirely possible that Angelique Vanarsdall, the person who allegedly commented about Jake Haro's past, deleted the remarks.
Another individual claimed that Jake was convicted of "willful child cruelty" in 2023. Reporting from The Orange County Register supports this, with the publication noting that Jake has a June 2023 felony conviction for child cruelty, stemming from a 2018 arrest in Hemet. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and then had 48 months of probation, but is slated to appear in court early September over an alleged probation violation.
‘Inconsistencies’ in mother's account
Meanwhile, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department announced that it could not rule out foul play in the disappearance of the child. Authorities reportedly found ‘inconsistencies’ in mother, Rebecca Haro's, version of events.
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However, when confronted with the same, she chose to end her interview. The department has not yet named either Jake or Rebecca as suspects.
What Rebecca Haro said happened to Emmanuel
As per Rebecca, she was getting ready to change her son's diaper when the kidnapper struck. “Someone said, 'Hola.' I couldn't even turn, I don't remember nothing,” CBS News reported her say. She told ABC News “I got him out of the car seat, and I laid him down so I can get his diaper ready ... all I remember, I saw white ... I fell on the floor, and as soon as I got up, I couldn’t find my son. I checked all around my truck. And I ran into Big 5, and I asked the lady if she saw a baby or someone with a baby. She said no.”
Her father put out an earnest appeal to help them find their child. “To the person who took my son, please just give him back to us, we'll forgive you. We won’t bother you, we just want our baby boy,” Jake said.
Emmanuel remains missing as of now. Authorities have said he was last seen in a black colored Nike onesie, and has brown hair, brown eyes. He is 24 inches tall, weighs around 21 pounds, and is cross-eyed, authorities added.
