Berkeley, Missouri Cult Case Still Unsolved as Toddlers Turn 5 in Hiding

Six people vanished from a rental house on Graham Lane in Berkeley, Missouri, and three years later, investigators still cannot say where they went. The group, which included two toddlers, is believed by police to have followed instructions from an online movement calling itself the University of Cosmic Intelligence, walking away from jobs, families, and any digital trail that might lead searchers to them.

Berkeley Police Major Steve Runge, who has investigated the case from the beginning, told FOX 2 that the group's long disappearance still makes no sense to him, and that investigators believe the six may be living off the grid. The missing include two adult mothers, Ma'Kayla Wickerson and Gerrielle German; their toddlers, Malaiyah Wickerson and Ashton Mitchell; Wickerson's cousin Mikayla Thompson; and Naaman Williams, according to the same report. The group had briefly stayed at a Florissant Quality Inn before settling into the Graham Lane rental home, per FOX 2, and later moved out of that residence entirely.

A TikTok Clue Reopens the Search

The most active lead in the case surfaced in February, when Berkeley investigators disclosed they were seeking court search warrants for a TikTok account after finding a video that appeared to potentially show Wickerson, according to The Independent. Detective Sgt. George Ervin said the warrant process had moved slowly as detectives tried to verify whether the account truly belonged to Wickerson or to a copycat, the outlet reported. It remains unconfirmed whether the video shows the missing woman.

That same month, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children issued an endangered missing alert for the two toddlers, now old enough to be entering kindergarten, publishing age-progressed photos showing how Malaiyah Wickerson and Ashton Mitchell might look at age 5, per the organization's blog. Police expressed grave concern, per the same account, that the children could be living off the grid without basic medical care or other necessities.

Families Say No Financial Trace, No Contact

Cartisha Morgan, Ma'Kayla's mother, said there have been no traces of the group using credit cards since they disappeared, according to FOX 2's reporting. She said the families will continue searching and praying for the group's safe return, and hopes national attention will eventually produce a tip that locates Ma'Kayla and Malaiyah.

Lukeitta Williams, the mother of missing Naaman Williams, said her son left while she was at work and that she did not know about the group's activities beforehand. She told FOX 2 she is concerned about the children's safety and hopes the group will one day understand how their disappearance has affected their parents.

Neighbors Described Strange Rituals Before the Move

Neighbors on Graham Lane previously reported that group members engaged in sun-worshipping, hugging trees, burying coins, and running naked through the yard during rainstorms before the group abandoned the rental house after receiving eviction notices, according to The Guardian. Per FOX 2, neighbors also reported some members sat naked on the house's roof. Family members told the Guardian that the missing adults quit their jobs, abandoned personal property, and changed their names to honor deities before cutting off communication entirely.

The University of Cosmic Intelligence instructs members to get off the grid and disconnect, and teaches that followers become part of the universe and do not belong on Earth, according to FOX 2's reporting. Runge said the group's instructions specifically include disconnecting from family and friends. The organization was founded by Rashad Jamal White, an Atlanta-area former rapper and online influencer who built a following exceeding 300,000 people across social media by promoting anti-government sentiment, pseudoscience, and off-grid living, the Guardian reported.

The Leader's Denial and a Prior Conviction

White was sentenced to 18 years in prison in Barrow County, Georgia in August 2023 after a jury convicted him of child molestation and cruelty to children, following an indictment in 2021 and arrest in 2022, according to Law Enforcement Today. He continued broadcasting livestreams and directing followers from behind bars even as the Missouri six disappeared that same month, the outlet reported.

In a phone interview from prison reported by the Guardian, White denied being a cult leader or knowing any of the six missing individuals, describing his organization as merely an educational YouTube channel. He said he only learned of the missing six through television news reports and argued that law enforcement had unfairly targeted him.

A Pattern of Violence Tied to the Same Movement

The Missouri case is not the only violent episode connected to White's followers. In August 2022, two University of Cosmic Intelligence followers, Krystal Diane Pinkins and Yasmine Hider, were charged with murder, kidnapping, and robbery after luring Florida college student Adam Simjee into a fatal shootout while living off-grid in Alabama's Talladega National Forest, according to CBS News. When police arrested Pinkins at her woodland camp, her 5-year-old child emerged from the forest holding a loaded shotgun, per the same report.

Months earlier, in January 2022, Alabama resident Damien Winslow Washam, another online follower of White, was arrested for killing his mother with a samurai sword and injuring two family members, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Washam was charged with murder and attempted murder before later being found not guilty by reason of insanity, the station reported.

National Spotlight and What Investigators Want Now

The case drew renewed national attention in July when Investigation Discovery and HBO Max featured it in an episode of People Magazine Investigates, highlighting independent efforts by volunteer investigator Rubin Mitchell to help the families and examining how online movements recruit and isolate vulnerable people from their families. Runge has also been featured in a national documentary about the missing six, per FOX 2's reporting.

Both police investigators and family members hope the renewed attention will bring answers, and Runge has said that greater exposure should prompt someone, somewhere, to report having seen the missing people. The Berkeley Police Department is asking anyone with relevant information about the group's whereabouts or the case to call 314-524-3311.