Hayward

Man Wanted After Child's Body Found in Merced Home

Investigators said they believe Jackson went on the run after news spread about the search of his home

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A manhunt was under way Saturday for a man wanted in the death of a child whose body was found inside a Merced home during the search for a missing 8-year-old girl.

The body was discovered at a home in Merced on Friday, several days after relatives of Sophia Mason told police in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Hayward that they had not had contact with the girl since December, and that she was known to stay at different locations between Hayward and Southern California.

The search is on for a man wanted in connection to the murder of a child in Merced. 8-year-old Sophia Mason from Hayward had been missing for several months, and the body found matches her description. The man in question is Dhante Jackson, Sophia's mother's boyfriend.

The missing person report led Hayward police to arrest the girl’s mother, Samantha Johnson, 30, on a warrant stemming from a case of child abuse in Alameda County last year, the Merced police department said in a statement Saturday.

Her statements led police to serve a search warrant at the house in Merced, where her 34-year-old boyfriend Dhante Jackson resides, the statement said.

The body of an 8-year-old child fitting the description of a girl who has been missing for several months, was found in a home in Merced. The mother is in the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on unrelated charges. Cheryl Hurd reports.

Investigators said they believe Jackson went on the run after news spread about the search of his home.

Merced police said investigators were working to identify the body. They did not release the cause of death.

Johnson was being held for investigation of murder. She will be transferred to the Merced County Jail to face charges, police said.

A warrant was issued for Jackson’s arrest. Police said he is known to frequent the Bay Area.

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