Swiss Police Say Sect Members Missing

At least 18 people linked to a doomsday sect at the center of a mysterious mass murder-suicide in Switzerland and Canada last year are missing, police said Thursday.

Police in Switzerland, France and Canada are looking for them, so far without success, Geneva police spokesman Alexandre Baeriswyl said.

In October 1994, the bodies of 53 members of the Order of the Solar Temple were found inside burned dwellings in Switzerland and Quebec. The sect followers variously had been drugged, shot and stabbed - including a baby who had been knifed in the heart.

Among the dead were Luc Jouret and Joseph di Mambro, respectively the guru and the mastermind of sect, which was based upon Roman Catholicism and harked back to centuries-old secret societies.

Although the leaders died, former devotees still were afraid to speak out in public, claiming that the sect remained active and they could face reprisals.

The missing included Patrick Vuarnet, son of former French ski champion Jean Vuarnet.

It was not clear if the missing were former members or still active. The sect was believed to have maintained roots in France, with members as far away as Australia.