In summer 2023, 27-year-old Gerrielle German left Horn Lake, Mississippi, with her young son Ashton Mitchell for what she told family was a spiritual journey. They traveled to a rental home in Berkeley, Missouri, and joined a small group that included Ma'Kayla Wickerson and her daughter Malaiyah, Mikayla Thompson, and Naaman Williams. Gerrielle was reported missing by her mother in July 2023 after contact stopped.

The last confirmed sighting of Gerrielle, Ashton and the four others was August 6, 2023, at a Quality Inn in Florissant, Missouri. Neighbors at the Berkeley rental said the group meditated and worshipped in the backyard, sometimes nude. The household was evicted on July 27, 2023, for owing at least three months’ rent; a subsequent welfare check found no forced entry but signs of a hasty departure — food in the microwave, dishes in the sink and laundry left in the washer.

Investigators have linked the group to an online organization called the University of Cosmic Intelligence led by Rashad Jamal White. Authorities say the group may have traveled to Mexico, an island in the Gulf of Mexico, or Atlanta, Georgia, but their exact whereabouts remain unknown. If anyone has information about Gerrielle, Ashton or the others, please share what was seen or heard.