Missing members of a breakaway religious sect found praying at a California park

Missing Calif. sect members found praying at park

PALMDALE, Calif. — The members of a breakaway religious sect were found praying at a Los Angeles County park Sunday, halting a frantic search for the five adults and eight children who went missing after writing letters to family members saying goodbye.

Deputies found the group at 11:55 a.m. Sunday at Jackie Robinson Park in Palmdale after getting a tip they might be there, Los Angeles County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore. He said all members are apparently safe.

Officers had been searching a wide swath of Southern California since Saturday after family members found letters saying the group was awaiting an apocalyptic event and would soon see Jesus and their dead relatives in heaven.

The group of El Salvadoran immigrants described as “cult-like” by sheriff’s officials, was led by Reyna Marisol Chicas, a 32-year-old woman from Palmdale in northeast Los Angeles county, sheriff’s Captain Mike Parker said.

Members left behind cell phones, identifications, deeds to property, and letters indicating they were awaiting the Rapture.

“Essentially, the letters say they are all going to heaven to meet Jesus and their deceased relatives,” sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said. “Some of the letters were saying goodbye.”

The items came from a purse that a member of the group had left with her husband Saturday and asked him to pray over. He eventually looked inside and he and another member’s husband called authorities, Parker said.

The men told investigators they believe group members had been “brainwashed” by Chicas, and one expressed worries that they might harm themselves, Parker said. One of the children is 3, and the others range from 12 to 17.

A sheriff’s deputy had spoken to members of the group at 3 a.m. Saturday while they were praying in their parked vehicles outside of a Palmdale high school, Parker said.

When the deputy made contact, adults in the group told him they were praying against violence in schools and against sexual immorality, specifically premarital sex.

The 13 adults and children were in three vehicles outside Pete Knight High School, Parker said. The deputy reported everyone appeared safe and he went on his way.

Chicas used to be a member of Iglesia De Cristo Miel, a Christian congregation in Palmdale, but left about two years ago without much explanation, said Pastor Felipe Vides, who said he had spoken with the sheriff’s office.

“She appeared normal, calm. We didn’t see anything strange,” Vides told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The church has about 400 members, mostly immigrants from Latin America, Vides said.

Chicas apparently had formed her own religious group, Parker said. About 12 to 15 people would gather at her home in Palmdale, a high-desert city of 139,000, and one night about a week ago, they didn’t leave until 2 a.m., said neighbor Cheri Kofahl.

“We’ve got a group here that’s practicing some orthodox and some unorthodox Christianity,” Parker said. “Obviously this falls under the unorthodox.”

Others who knew Chicas said she was devout but hardly fanatic in her religious beliefs.

Former neighbor Ricardo Giron told The Los Angeles Times that Chicas became increasingly religious after she separated from her husband four years ago.

But Giron’s wife, Jisela, said the church she had attended was a typical Christian congregation and Chicas did not have a leadership role.

The couple said Chicas regularly baby-sat for their children and the two families went on outings together.

“Everywhere she was going, she was taking her kids with her,” Giron told the newspaper. “You felt like you could trust her.”

About six months ago, the group had planned to head to Vasquez Rocks, a wilderness area near Palmdale, to await a catastrophic earthquake or similar event, but one member of the group revealed details of the trip to relatives, Parker said. The trip was called off and the member kicked out.

According to an emergency bulletin put out by the governor’s office, in addition to Chicas, the missing include: Norma Isela Serrano, 31, Alma Alicia Miranda Pleitez, 28; Martha Clavel, 39; Jose Clavel, 15; Crystal Clavel, 3; Roberto Tejada, 18; Jonathan Tejada, 17; Hugo Tejada, 3; Ezequel Chicas, 15; Genisis Chicas, 12; Bryan Rivera, 17; Stephanie Serrano, 12.

Associated Press Writers contributing to this report include Ana Elena Azpurua in New York; and Andrew Dalton and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.