On August 6, 2023, a then three-year-old boy named Ashton Kai Mitchell disappeared from Florissant, Missouri, along with his mother, Gerielle German. Ashton's grandmother had reported him and his mother missing in July 2023, after Gerielle left her husband and their home in Horn Lake, Mississippi, telling her mother she was embarking on a 'spiritual journey.' She took Ashton with her, leaving her four-year-old daughter behind with family, and traveled to Berkeley, Missouri.
Her mother noted that prior to her departure, Gerielle's behavior had changed; she was meditating frequently and speaking about 'high frequency, low frequency and cosmic husbands.' The move to Missouri was abrupt and concerning to her family, who lost contact with her shortly after she left.
The circumstances surrounding Ashton and his mother's disappearance grew more complex as it was revealed they were not alone. They were living in a rental home in Berkeley with four other individuals: Ma'Kayla Wickerson and her young daughter Malaiyah, Mikayla Thompson, and Naaman Williams. The entire group of six vanished together. The last confirmed sighting of the group was at a Quality Inn hotel in Florissant. When police later performed a welfare check on their rental home, they found it in a state that suggested a sudden departure. Food was left in the microwave, dishes were in the sink, and valuables had been left behind. The group had been served an eviction notice just days before they were last seen. Neighbors reported that the residents of the home had engaged in daily meditation and worship in the backyard, sometimes in the nude.
The investigation into the disappearance of the six individuals, including young Ashton, has led authorities to believe their case may be connected to an online group called the 'University of Cosmic Intelligence,' which has been described as a spiritual cult. The group's leader, Rashad Jamal White, was convicted and imprisoned in Georgia on charges of child molestation. White has denied being a cult leader and claims he does not know the missing individuals. Family members noted that some of the missing adults had begun using aliases of mythological gods and goddesses. The Berkeley Police Department and the FBI are involved in the search, looking into potential locations such as Mexico, an island in the Gulf of Mexico, or Atlanta, Georgia, but the group's digital and financial footprints have gone cold. The case is an agonizing mystery of six people, two of them small children, who abruptly disconnected from their lives and vanished without a trace, leaving their families waiting in anguish for any news of their whereabouts.Last Seen: Aug 6, 2023
