The inquiry into the supposed kidnapping of a 7-month-old boy has taken an unexpected direction, with the child’s mother’s former husband asserting that “only she knows the truth.”
Rebecca Haro, the boy’s mother, reported to the authorities that while changing her son Emmanuel’s diaper outside her car in the parking lot of a Big 5 store in Yucaipa, California, on Thursday evening, an unidentified man rendered her unconscious.
Haro purportedly informed deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office that while she was tending to her son, a man approached her from behind and greeted her with “Hola,” which means hello in Spanish.
The 41-year-old mother said the suspect allegedly attacked her from behind, knocking her unconscious before she was able to turn around.
Haro told deputies she had no recollection of anything that followed, except that when she regained consciousness, her 7-month-old son was missing.
Haro, her husband Jake, and her mother Mary Beushausen spoke briefly to news outlets and urged the public to help them find the toddler.
“I had just taken him out of the car seat and laid him down to prepare his diapers when someone said ‘Hola,’ and that’s all I can recall. Everything went white,” Haro, visibly upset and with a prominent black eye, recounted to ABC affiliate KABC-TV.
“I fell on the floor, and as soon as I got up, I couldn’t find my son.”
“Whoever took our son, please give him back,” Jake, 32, the newborn’s father, added.
Yet, in the days after the reported abduction of the boy, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office investigators noted “inconsistencies” in Haro’s narrative.
While officials from San Bernardino County have not disclosed specifics regarding Haro’s conflicting accounts, they did reveal that following their initial discussions, both Haro and her ex-husband have declined to continue cooperating or participate in any further interviews.
“Investigators interviewed multiple individuals, including Emmanuel’s parents Jake and Rebecca Haro,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
“During those interviews, Rebecca was confronted with inconsistencies in her initial statement and declined to continue with the interview.
“At this point in the investigation, investigators are unable to rule out foul play in the disappearance of Emmanuel.”
Beushausen previously told The Orange County Register that Jake refused to allow his wife Haro to take a lie detector test in front of authorities.
The grandmother told the outlet that the couple wanted to hire an attorney before taking the test.
When approached by The U.S. Sun, Beushausen, Emmanuel’s grandmother, declined to comment.
MOTHER’S EX-HUSBAND SPEAKS OUT
In the days following little Emmanuel’s disappearance, troubling details have emerged about Jake’s criminal records, as well as Haro’s life as a mother of five other children.
Haro’s ex-husband, who asked not to be named, told The U.S. Sun he did not know his ex-wife remarried or had another son.
The man said he and Haro have been separated for years following an 11-year marriage.
“Our relationship was normal, your normal relationship. We were married for 11 years and dated for about 15 years,” the ex-husband told The U.S. Sun.
“We got two daughters. They’re grown, they’re over 18 already. I don’t know anything about her new husband, only what I’ve read on the news.
“I haven’t talked to her in years. I didn’t even know she had a son until the news came out.”
The man wished for a positive outcome in the search for Haro’s son, adding, “When a kid goes missing, it’s pretty shocking.
“You never wish that on a baby. Then you find out that it goes missing like that out of nowhere. I don’t know it’s heartbreaking.
“I don’t know what to think about that, only she knows the truth
” I hope they [police] find the baby. I think that’s what everybody wants out of this.”
FATHER’S DARK PAST
Meanwhile, The Orange County Register has since reported that Emmanuel’s father had previously been convicted of felony wilful child cruelty.
Jake was arrested in Hemet, a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, in 2018 and was convicted in June 2023 on felony charges.
He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 48 months of probation, according to court records.
A prison sentence of 72 months was suspended, the outlet reported, but he is scheduled to appear in court in early September for an alleged probation violation.
Neither Jake, Haro, nor Beushausen have been charged nor named as suspects in connection with little Emmanuel’s alleged abduction.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The U.S. Sun that investigators executed a search warrant at the home of Jake and Rebecca Haro.
When asked if the parents are being probed as suspects, the sheriff’s office said, “Investigators have not ruled out anyone’s involvement and are following up on all leads and tips.”
