Rashad Jamal White told the Post-Dispatch in a wide-ranging phone interview from a Georgia prison that his "University of Cosmic Intelligence" is simply a spiritual YouTube channel.
Family and eyewitness neighbors are speaking out about the disappearance of three women, a man and two children. Police say they were all last seen at a Quality Inn.
The Berkeley Police Department released the last-known images of some of the missing people which showcased four people who appeared to be meditating on the property of a home outside St. Louis.
The disappearances have been linked by police to a cult founded by Rashad Jamal called the University of Cosmic Intelligence that encourages followers to live off grid.