() A seven-month-old baby has been missing for six days and residents who live in the area where he vanished say his disappearance was “very suspicious from the get-go.”
San Bernardino County deputies have been searching for Emmanuel Haro since Aug. 14. His mother, Rebecca Haro, told police that she was changing his diaper in the parking lot of a Big 5 Sporting Goods Store when a stranger knocked her out and kidnapped the boy.
Police say Rebecca stopped cooperating with the investigation once they started to question her story about her son’s disappearance. Residents in Yucaipa say they aren’t sure what to think about the case.
“The initial reaction was shock, because that doesn’t happen out here. In Yucaipa, it’s very safe and we’re very, if we see something, people will step in,” Heather Walker told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.”
“Once we saw that firsthand, her interview, everyone was very suspicious from the get-go, and it wasn’t adding up.”
Rebecca Haro’s ‘strange’ behavior
Walker is among locals who have helped search for the little boy.
“I personally saw the mother, Rebecca, the day they were hosting a search party,” she said. “I just thought it was very strange that she was walking to her car just fine … and then the news vehicle started coming in, and then she limped away.
“At that point, I kind of had a very bad feeling that we weren’t searching for a child in the area.”
Police said Rebecca Haro was inconsistent in her recollections of what happened before Emmanuel’s disappearance.
Walker said she spoke with people who worked at stores near where Emmanuel vanished and none of them reported seeing Rebecca with a baby.
“It just doesn’t happen where someone walks up behind you out here, knocks you out, and takes a baby and no witnesses,” Walker said. “And it’s a very busy street.”
Police searched Rebecca’s home but haven’t announced if they found anything incriminating. They seized a vehicle belonging to Emmanuel’s father, Jake Haro, on Tuesday, affiliate KTLA reported.
Haro and his ex-wife pleaded guilty to willful child cruelty after their then-10-week-old daughter was admitted to a hospital with broken bones in 2018, according to The Orange County Register.
Walker said neither Rebecca nor Jake Haro showed up for a vigil for Emmanuel. She felt it was strange and is upset that the parents have made it seem like the city of Yucaipa is unsafe.
Investigators not buying mother’s story
Walker’s intuitions about Rebecca Haro’s inconsistent story have also been supported by Lauren Matthias, an investigative journalist, and Jennifer Coffindaffer, a former FBI agent.
“I think that there were eyes on this family for quite some time,” said Matthias.
Coffindaffer adds, “When you look at somebody who has that sort of a history, that tends to follow patterns.”
Police have not arrested or charged the parents with any crime.
