Thaindian News

PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA (BNO NEWS) — Police near Los Angeles are searching for a group of five adults and eight children who went missing under questionable circumstances and may intend to harm themselves, authorities said on early Sunday morning.

Captain Mike Parker of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told BNO News that the group, who he identified as ‘cult-like’, went missing on Saturday morning after a prayer meeting at a Palmdale home. They were reported missing to authorities by two husbands at around 1.45 p.m. PDT.

Police said they are unsure about the plans the group may have, but are concerned they may harm themselves. “We do not have a crime at this time,” Parker said.

One of the group member’s husband was given a purse and told to watch over it. Inside were five cell phones, money, letters and personal IDs for several people.

Authorities believe the group, which includes children as young as 3, are waiting for “The Rapture” or some other kind of catastrophic event. “The Rapture” is an interpretation of Christian eschatology in which Christians go to heaven and meet Jesus, while nonbelievers stay behind.

The letters, written in both Spanish and English, indicated that the group would take refuge somewhere and await to go to heaven. They also called upon their families to join them and said goodbye to relatives.

The California Highway Patrol initially released an alert in which it said the group was planning to commit mass suicide. Parker, however, said this alert was an internal communication sent in error and was not meant for public release. He said the group’s plan was unclear, but said their families were ‘very concerned.’

Families of the missing people fear they may have been brainwashed and described them as potentially vulnerable people. The leader of the group was identified as 32-year-old Reyna Marisol Chicas.

Some members of the group originally met through a Christian church in Palmdale, but Parker said their practices included non-traditional beliefs.

In March, the group had planned a similar event in Vasquez Rocks - an area near Palmdale - but it was called off after one of the members revealed details of the event to family members. That member was eventually removed from the group.

Parker said the families have no history of violence.

The other missing persons, all whom are immigrants from El Salvador, were identified as 15-year-old Ezequel Chicas, 12-year-old Genisis Chicas, 31-year-old Norma Isela Serrano, 16-year-old Bryan Rivera, 15-year-old Jose Clavel, 12-year-old Stephanie Serrano, 3-year-old Crystal Clavel, 28-year-old Alma Alicia Miranda Pleitez, 3-year-old Hugo Tejada, 17-year-old Jonathan Tejada, 39-year-old Martha Clavel, and 18-year-old Roberto Tejada.

The vehicles used were identified as: a white 2004 Nissan Quest with license plate 6LJF396, a white Mercury Villager with license plate 3NFX290, and a new model silver Toyota Tunda with unknown license plate.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it had requested the California Highway Patrol to issue an Amber Alert, but it was not immediately clear why CHP decided not to.

If you have any information about the missing group, authorities ask you to call 911 or the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at (661) 272-2400.

The last notable mass suicide in the United States occurred in March 1997, when 39 members of a cult called “Heaven’s Gate” committed suicide in a hilltop mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, not far from San Diego. The cult members believed that a UFO was flying behind the Hale-Bopp comet and were convinced that their souls would board the supposed craft if they died.