San Diego County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for tips leading to the arrest of Merle Wakefield. The 69-year-old sexually violent predator cut off his GPS monitor and disappeared from a Rancho Bernardo work site on Friday, Sept. 25.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Office announced the reward on Friday, Oct. 2, the same day a felony arrest warrant was issued for Wakefield. He is wanted for failure to register as a sex offender and for violating the terms of his conditional release.

Wakefield remains at large.

The Sheriff's Department, which polices Encinitas under contract, is working with the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force and other agencies across San Diego County to find him.

What happened

Wakefield's GPS device went into tamper mode around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 25 while he was working at an Amazon warehouse on the 16000 block of Via Esprillo in Rancho Bernardo. A Liberty Healthcare staffer arrived about 20 minutes later and found the GPS and Wakefield's cellphone in bushes at the site, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Security video shows Wakefield getting into the passenger side of a white Tesla, according to a Sept. 28 court filing cited by the Union-Tribune. His car and car keys were found at his home in Campo.

The Sheriff's Office said there is no credible reason to believe Wakefield is driving a white 2018 Toyota Camry, despite earlier reports, CBS 8 reported.

He stands 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 230 pounds. He is bald with brown eyes.

Criminal history

Wakefield was convicted in 1981 of lewd acts with a minor under 14 and in 1990 of rape by means of force. After his release from prison in 1998, he was formally designated a sexually violent predator. He had been living under conditional release in San Diego County since November 2024, monitored by Liberty Healthcare, a private contractor paid by the state.

Under California law, cutting off a GPS monitoring device is a misdemeanor. That limited investigators' tools in the days after Wakefield disappeared. Law enforcement had to wait five business days to obtain the felony arrest warrant, the Union-Tribune reported.

Sheriff Kelly Martinez told the Union-Tribune that the misdemeanor classification was "a bit problematic" because "a lot of our investigative tools are reliant upon a felony."

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who represents District 5, told the Union-Tribune on Saturday, Oct. 3, that Wakefield's escape caught him off guard. Desmond has called for a freeze on future conditional releases of sexually violent predators until the case is resolved.

How to report a sighting

The Sheriff's Office urges anyone who sees Wakefield not to approach him. Call the SAFE Task Force at (858) 868-3200. Anonymous tips can go to San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or at sdcrimestoppers.org.