Search for missing 7-month-old baby continues in San Bernardino County as attorney for father speaks out

As the search for missing seven-month-old Emmanuel Haro continues in San Bernardino County, with some fingers pointing towards his parents, the attorney representing his father is speaking out to shoot down speculation that they stopped cooperating with detectives. 

"Find Emmanuel, that's all the family is asking for," said Vincent Hughes, the defense attorney representing Jake Haro. "Nobody is searching for a seven-month-old child, and that's the biggest issue here."

Since Emmanuel went missing on Thursday, Aug. 14, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department detectives have not yet ruled out anyone's involvement, including his parents. On Saturday, they said that their stories had some "inconsistencies" that prevented them from ruling out foul play. 

Investigators have changed the case's classification from a kidnapping to a critical missing child investigation.

Rebecca Haro said someone punched her and took her baby while she was changing his diaper in the parking lot outside of a Big 5 store in Yucaipa, located in the 34500 block of Yucaipa Boulevard, at around 7:30 p.m. Since then, the baby has not been seen. 

Hughes says that since then, investigators have increasingly turned their focus onto the couple, including Jake Haro's criminal past, and have accused them of not cooperating with their investigation. 

"There was a conviction for child cruelty, which Jake is not running from," Hughes said. "He's not hiding from his record; it's publicly available information."

Jake Haro served six months in jail after he pleaded guilty to willful child cruelty in 2023 for an incident that happened in October of 2018, a case in which his former wife, Vanessa Haro, was named as a co-defendant. Hughes also represented Jake Haro in that case. 

"It's no nexus between that case and this case here, and he should not be judged based on his past," Hughes said, stating that Jake Haro is a good father who loves his children and wife. 

Over the weekend, however, investigators removed a two-year-old child from the couple's home in Cabazon when they confronted them over inconsistencies in their story. 

"Not one thing has been cited as an inconsistency," Hughes said. "Law enforcement is being extremely tight-lipped about the situation."

He said that both Jake and Rebecca were willing to talk to detectives and willingly handed over their vehicle, cell phones with passwords and allowed cadaver dogs into their home. He says that investigators searched the property, dug holes in the backyard and cut holes in the ground, but did not find anything. 

Hughes also said that detectives showed the Haro family security video taken from a liquor store across the street from where they say the baby was taken.

"Something falls, gets back up. That seems to corroborate exactly what Rebecca's story was in the beginning," he said. 

Detectives say that they have gathered a substantial amount of video footage that is currently being reviewed. They did not provide details on whether the footage contained information that could help their investigation. 

They also said that they're aware of a tip that Emmanuel was spotted in Kern County, which they are looking into.