Mystery Deepens as Six Missourians Linked to Cosmic Cult
Police in Missouri are still searching for four adults and two children who mysteriously vanished in July 2024, as ties to an online cult called the University of Cosmic Intelligence have been discovered.
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Six Missing Missourians: Four Adults and Two Children Vanished in July 2024
Ma'Kayla Wickerson, 28, and her five-year-old daughter Malaiyah, Gerielle German, 30, and her five-year-old son Ashton Mitchell, Naaman Williams, 32, and Wickerson's cousin Mikayla Thompson, 27, all went missing in July 2024. They disappeared from Wickerson’s rental home near St. Louis Lambert International Airport and were last seen at a nearby motel.
New Clues Tie Them to an Online Cult Led by Rashad Jamal
Berkeley Police Major Steve Runge told Fox News: 'There’s no footprint whatsoever, no current digital footprint. 'We’re trying to find any lead. Common places they went, rental cars, phone records out of state, out of the country, trying to find any ties to give us a lead as to where they are.' Rashad Jamal White - known as Rashad Jamal to his followers - leads the University Of Cosmic Intelligence cult that preaches to African Americans and Latinos and believes they are the natural earthly beings, not white people. He claimed around that time through a jailhouse phone call that he, Blacks, and Latinos, are 'gods.' Completely vanished: Ma'Kayla Wickerson, 28, and her five-year-old daughter Malaiyah, Gerielle German, 30, and her five-year-old-son Ashton Mitchell, Naaman Williams, 32, and Wickerson's cousin, 27,-year-old Mikayla Thompson, all went missing in 2024
Diary Clues, Doomsday Beliefs, and a TikTok Lead
Police have continued investigating the group's disappearance and have discovered new evidence leading them to believe that they were involved in the cult. Runge said: 'We recovered a diary from one of the people that went missing, and the writings in that diary are something you would see with brainwashing, just repetitive, I am a god, I am a god, I am a god.' He described the cult's beliefs as 'very off the grid stuff,' and added: 'How to prepare for doomsday. A lot of it, the end of the world is coming. And they had a very solid belief that we’re not from here. We’re not from this planet.' A new lead also emerged on TikTok, which Runge described as 'very promising,' after someone may have spotted Wickerson. Currently, the lead is being investigated and remains unconfirmed.
Neighbors’ Reports and Background Context: Doomsday Beliefs and Past Crimes
The group of six had been acting strangely before their disappearance, including hanging out on the roof naked and worshipping the sun, neighbors said. Jamal gained thousands of followers as part of the online cult and is currently serving an 18-year sentence in Georgia for child molestation and child cruelty, Fox News reported. The group of six who went missing had been exhibiting strange behavior before their disappearance, including hanging out on the roof naked, neighbors said. Runge said: 'Neighbors reported seeing these people outside daily, worshipping the sun. When it was raining, they would come outside naked and run around the yard. They were digging up things in the yard.' No news: Cartisha Morgan, Wickerson's mom, said she hasn't heard from her daughter, or her granddaughter, since March 2024. Other neighbors reported seeing the group 'sitting outside in tall grass with their palms upward on sunny days,' hugging trees and burying coins. Runge told the outlet that the 'cult' is an anti-government group who believe in polygamy and encourages members to go off the grid. Cartisha Morgan, Wickerson's mom, told Fox News that she hadn't heard from her daughter, or her granddaughter, since March 2024. Crossed wires: Jamal denied being a cult leader to the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch or knowing the missing six people. Morgan recalled requesting welfare checks and the support of child protective services and said: 'I was trying to let them know that something was not right. She doesn’t usually do things like this. She’s usually very family-oriented. So for her to cut off everybody, quit her job, leave all her belongings behind is not the norm.' Detective Sergeant George Ervin told the outlet: 'I know that it seems like some stuff you’d see fresh out of a movie in Hollywood, but this is real life. These people are missing.' In 2022, three alleged members of the same 'cult' were accused of two separate murders in Alabama. Damien Winslow Washam was accused of killing his 61-year-old mother with a sword and injuring his disabled uncle and brother. In September 2023, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity, Fox News reported. Brütal killing: Damien Winslow Washam was found not guilty by insanity for the murder of his mother with a sword and injuring his disabled uncle and brother. More crimes: Krystal Diane Pinkins, 36 (left) and Yasmine Hider, 20, (right) were sentenced to jail for murder. Krystal Diane Pinkins and Yasmine Hider were accused of murdering 22-year-old Adam Simjee of Apopka, Florida, when he tried to help them with their car. Hider was sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder, kidnapping, and robbery in October 2023, according to the Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney's Office. Pinkins was sentenced to life in prison, after being convicted of murder, robbery, and unlawful use of a firearm during a crime of violence in September 2023.
