Rebecca and Jake Haro have been charged as investigators search Southern California for the seven month-old boy’s remains
Nearly two weeks ago, 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro was reported missing by his mom and dad.
Rebecca and Jake Haro told authorities that on August 14, their son had been “kidnapped” from the parking lot of a sporting goods store in Yucaipa, California.
Eight days later, deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department arrested the couple, pointing to “inconsistencies” in their story.
Now the couple has been charged with murder and the search for the boy’s remains continues.
As investigators attempt to piece together what happened, here’s a timeline of key dates in Emmanuel’s disappearance:
Rebecca Haro, 41, said she was attacked at about 7.50 p.m. on August 14 in the parking lot of a Big 5 store on the 34000 block of Yucaipa Boulevard.
She told the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department that she was standing outside her car changing her son’s diaper when she was “physically assaulted by an unknown male and rendered unconscious.”
Upon regaining consciousness, the mother told authorities her baby was missing.
Deputies launched their initial search, deploying helicopters and scent-tracking dogs but the missing infant was not located.
In interviews with L.A. media in the following days, Emmanuel’s mother said the last word she heard before allegedly being knocked out was a stranger saying “hola.”
With a visible black eye, she claimed the family was in the area for another child’s football practice and she had gone to the store to buy a mouthguard.
Two days after his reported disappearance, the boy’s father, 32, begged for answers and urged the alleged kidnapper to “just give our son back.”
The sheriff’s department said it interviewed “multiple individuals” concerning the disappearance, including the child’s parents.
“During those interviews, Rebecca was confronted with inconsistencies in her initial statement and declined to continue with the interview,” authorities said in an August 16 news release.
Suspicion grew when the woman refused to cooperate further with the investigation, prompting authorities to say they were “unable to rule out foul play” in the case.
The Haros’ defense attorney, Vincent Hughes, told the Los Angeles Times the mother had refused to take a polygraph test but was still co-operating.
Searches across San Bernardino and Riverside counties intensified, with authorities reviewing reams of surveillance footage in areas of interest and serving several search warrants at the Haro home in Cabazon.
The Haros’ lawyer told FOX 11 on Tuesday, August 19 that the couple had begun working with investigators and had received death threats.
A day later, a vehicle belonging to the father was seized by investigators as part of the search for their son, the attorney said.
Mara Rodriguez, public information officer for SBCSD, told USA Today that investigators received reports of possible sightings of the boy in Kern County, but he was not found after follow-up.
On Friday, eight days after Emmanuel Haro went missing, the SBCSD announced that the boy’s parents were arrested at their Cabazon home.
Authorities said that based on their evidence, “investigators determined a kidnapping in Yucaipa did not occur.”
“It is believed Emmanuel is deceased and the search to recover his remains is ongoing,” the sheriff’s department said in the news release.
After being detained, both Rebecca and Jake Haro were charged with murder under California’s Penal Code 187. Officials have not revealed what led to their arrests.
Search teams continued to comb through an isolated field in Moreno Valley over the weekend. Jake Haro was spotted sporting an orange jumpsuit alongside detectives and cadaver dogs as they searched the shoulder of the 60 Freeway, near Gilman Springs Road.
As the case moves forward, the Haros have maintained their innocence and continued pleading for people to help look for their son.
“I will not give up. I will not give up on my baby,” she told the Southern California News Group on Monday while in custody. “I want to be out looking for my baby.”
The Haros were each formally charged inside Riverside County Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon with one count of murder with malice in connection with their infant son’s death.
They were also charged with making a false police report, a misdemeanor, and a new arraignment date was set for the pair for September 4.
Prosecutors also revealed new details in the case: Emmanuel might have been dead up to nine days before his mother reported the abduction in Yucaipa.
According to newly released court documents viewed by KTLA, investigators believe the boy could have been killed sometime between August 5 and August 14.
While Rebecca Haro has no known criminal history, her husband does.
Court records show he was convicted of willful child cruelty in 2023, following a case in 2018 in which his infant daughter with a previous partner suffered multiple severe injuries, including a skull fracture, brain hemorrhage, and broken ribs.
Haro and his then-wife, Vanessa Avina, pleaded guilty. In that case, he was sentenced to 180 days in a sheriff’s work-release program and ordered into a child abuser treatment program.
