BERKELEY, Mo. – More than half a year has passed since six people with ties to the St. Louis area vanished. Authorities believed all six had ties to an online cult before their disappearance.

The Berkeley Police Department first informed FOX 2 of the missing group in early January. At that point, they were last reported to be seen in St. Louis County around August 12.

Search efforts have stretched several weeks for the six missing people. Police say that group includes:

• Mikayla Thompson, 24, of St. Louis

• Naaman Williams, 29, of Washington D.C.

• Gerrielle German, 28, of Lake Horn, Mississippi

• Ashton Williams, 2, of Lake Horn, Mississippi

• Ma’Kayla Wickerson, 35, of St. Louis

• Malaiyah Wickerson, 3, of St. Louis

Berkeley Police Major Steve Runge says his department has received a few tips on the potential whereabouts of the missing six since a January press release on the matter, but nothing has panned out to finding them in recent weeks.

“We still haven’t had any luck. We’ve been working nonstop on this case, but there’s nothing new as far as finding them goes,” said Runge in a phone call Tuesday with FOX 2.

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The Berkeley Police Department describes Rashad Jamal as an alleged cult leader with possible ties to the missing group.

Jamal, whose legal last name is White, is a self-proclaimed prophet with tens of thousands of followers through several social media platforms. Police say his rhetoric “includes a mix of polygamy, sovereign citizenship, ancient mythology, and cosmic universe beliefs.”

Authorities say Jamal is serving an 18-year sentence in Georgia for child molestation, a ruling that reportedly took effect last year. Since his sentence and Berkeley’s announcement on the police investigation into the missing group, new content has emerged on Jamal’s social media platforms.

Jamal speaks out

In a YouTube video published on Jan. 20, Jamal apparently addressed the controversy of his name in the Berkeley investigation head-on.

“In the most recent situation, there’s now allegations that there are six people missing in St. Louis. If it’s six people missing in St. Louis, my heart goes out to them. I hope those individuals are found,” said Jamal in the YouTube video.

He continued, “Now they are writing all types of articles,” mentioning how local and national media outlets have picked up on stories with his name around the investigation.

“These are major, major media outlets that are tying my name to six people I have never met in my life,” said Jamal. “Never met them. I don’t even know if they watch my lectures. But they are saying that because they watch my lectures, I am responsible for them. I have now been labeled as a cult leader, which is a derogatory misnomer.”

Jamal also claimed in a Jan. 2 YouTube video, “The only law I have broken was speaking out against oppression,” and “The only thing I am guilty of is freeing the minds of my people and speaking out against this system, and I’ll never back down from that.”

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Recent developments

At this point, prosecutors have not charged White in connection with anyone’s disappearance from the St. Louis-area.

The Berkeley Police Department initially told FOX 2 that the missing group members lived in Ma’Kayla Wickerson’s home near St. Louis Lambert International Airport for months before vanishing. Police claim the group joined an online cult, without a particular name but with alleged ties to Jamal, before disappearing.

Among the group that disappeared, police say some changed their name to a spiritual God or Goddess on social media, quit their jobs, and cut connections from their family and close friends.

“They’re still blacked out on social media,” said Runge on Tuesday. “They’re not responding to anything. Family members have given them money on their Cash App. They haven’t used them. We’ve had no new information on their whereabouts.”

As police search for new clues in the missing group’s possible locations, police have been working to collect data through various search warrants and communication with several US law enforcement agencies.

“Right now, we’re continuing to get the word out and see if anybody has seen them,” said Runge.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of the missing people, contact the Berkeley Police Department at 314-524-3311.

NOTE: Video attached to story from FOX 2’s Jan. 8 on-air report.

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