Ground search for missing 7-month-old California boy on hold; reported sighting scrutinized

San Bernardino County sheriff’s investigators continued searching for missing 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro on Wednesday, Aug. 20, but until new clues emerge, the hunt won’t continue by foot, a spokeswoman said.

“If investigators discover information or receive leads that necessitate a ground search in a specific area, that will be done,” spokeswoman Mara Rodriguez said. “This remains an active investigation, and investigators are exploring every avenue in an attempt to locate Emmanuel.”

Officials continued to carefully release details Wednesday to protect the investigation. Rodriguez did say that no other agencies, such as the FBI, were currently involved. But the department declined to describe what it previously said were inconsistencies in the statements the boy’s mother, Rebecca Haro, made to investigators.

Meanwhile, a wide discrepancy emerged on Wednesday between the accounts of a reported sighting of Emmanuel in Bakersfield. Vincent Hughes, the attorney for the boy’s father, Jake Haro, said Haro told investigators that Emmanuel was possibly seen at a gas station in Bakersfield.

Rodriguez said investigators were aware of the sighting, but “No information as to where in Kern County was provided.”

Sally Selby, a spokeswoman for the Bakersfield Police Department, said Wednesday that the department had not received a request to search for Emmanuel. A spokesperson for the Kern County Sheriff’s Department could not be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon.

Also Wednesday, San Bernardino County investigators said they believe that a house fire across the street from the Haro home on Tuesday was unrelated to the case.

According to his mother, Emmanuel vanished from a parking lot in Yucaipa after she was attacked while changing her son’s diaper by her vehicle on Aug. 14. She told investigators she was knocked unconscious, and when she awoke, Emmanuel was gone.

“Emmanuel continues to be the main focus of this investigation, and we will continue our efforts to locate him,” the Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday.