By SDCN Staff
San Diego, CA–The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office has called off the search for Sexually Violent Predator Merle Wakefield after he was found deceased in San Diego, authorities said.
On Monday, just after 9:30 a.m., the San Diego Police Department responded to a call of a human body that was discovered in a riverbed near the 4800 block of Fairmount Avenue.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office responded and later positively identified the body to be Wakefield. They will perform an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of his death. His next of kin has been notified.
Because this is still an active investigation, no further information will be released at this time.
Since Wakefield’s disappearance, the San Diego Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Task Force has worked diligently to investigate the case, pursuing all tips and leads.
On September 25, Wakefield removed his GPS device while at work in Rancho Bernardo and absconded from the scene.
Personnel with Liberty Healthcare, which was in charge of supervising Wakefield as part of the state’s Conditional Release Program, notified the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office and San Diego Police Department when Wakefield could not be located. All law enforcement agencies in the region were also alerted, as well as the public.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office thanked its law enforcement partners, the community and the media for their assistance with the investigation.
