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Title: Authorities Search For 13 From ‘Cult-Like’ Sect: The group left behind cell phones, identifications, deeds to property, and letters indicating they were awaiting the Rapture, some of the letters were saying goodbye.
Source:
AP
URL Source: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/201 ... ch-for-13-from-cult-like-sect/
Published: Sep 19, 2010
Author: staff writer
Post Date: 2010-09-19 09:04:46 by Murron
Keywords: None
Views: 2380
Comments: 3
Authorities Search For 13 From ‘Cult-Like’ Sect Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010 | 2:30 a.m. Deputies searched a wide swath of Southern California early Sunday for a break-off religious sect of 13 people that included children as young as three and left behind letters indicating they were awaiting an apocalyptic event and would soon see Jesus and their dead relatives in heaven, authorities said. 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. The group 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. An address listed in Chicas' name, a two-story green stucco residence with a three-car garage in a suburban subdivision in Palmdale, a high-desert city of 139,000, appeared to be empty early Sunday. A sheriff's deputy sat in a car parked in front and kept reporters from walking on to the property. Whitmore said the major crimes unit, helicopter patrols and many other deputies were looking for missing people. They were searching for three vehicles: a silver Toyota Tundra pickup, a 1995 Mercury Villager and a 2004 white Nissan. Parker said the materials the group left behind suggested they would be in the Antelope Valley area not far from their homes. 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. The group had broken off from a mainstream Christian church in Palmdale. Parker did not know what church they had belonged to previously, and it does not appear that they had given their sect a name. "We've got a group here that's practicing some orthodox and some unorthodox Christianity," Parker said. "Obviously this falls under the unorthodox." 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.
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Palmdale Neighbors Paint Different Picture of Presumed Cult Leader September 19, 2010 | Late Saturday night, authorities were describing Reyna Marisol Chicas as a potential cult leader who may have masterminded a group suicide plot that included her own children. But former neighbors of the Salvadoran immigrant painted a different picture, describing Chicas as a simple woman who hadn't been schooled beyond the fifth grade and could hardly keep a job let alone have a religious following. "She was a good mother, always with her kids. She was not fanatic," said Ricardo Giron, 51, a Palmdale man who was Chicas' neighbor. Giron said his family was close to the Chicases. They said Chicas often lied about minor things -- like her job status -- but was a devoted mother. Their children would ride bikes and play computer games together -- and on more than one occasion took camping trips to Yosemite with other families. Chicas would babysit, caring for the Giron children along with her own, Ezequel and Genisis, who authorities said were also missing Saturday night. "Everywhere she was going, she was taking her kids with her," he said. "You felt like you could trust her." But when Chicas and her husband separated four years ago, she became increasingly religious, he said. Chicas began attending a local church, Iglesia de Cristo Miel, several times a week, spending several hours there each visit. Giron's wife, Jisela, attended a few times and said Chicas was always there, her children in tow. The church, she said, was a typical Christian congregation. Sermons were in Spanish. Beyond the women dressing modestly, she said, there was nothing that made the largely Latino congregation stand out. But she said some congregants would meet separately, in their own prayer groups outside the church, and among those groups beliefs could vary. Chicas, she said, never took on a leadership position at the church beyond greeter at Sunday services, but may have been more assertive within a prayer group. Chicas had slowly severed social ties with the couple -- no longer wanting to drink or go out as they used to. They last saw her at the church about six months ago. "This is hard to believe. Cult leader? She was not a serious person, very simple, not professional, not prepared" said Giron. -- Faturechi, Robert
Missing Calif. Sect Members Found Praying at Park By JACOB ADELMAN, Associated Press Writer 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.
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