Where's Marcos?

Marcos Antonio Cruz, 2, disappeared on December 15, 1984, after his mother abandoned him outside a Catholic church in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Marcos "Full of Demons," Dropped Off in Front of Catholic Church

Marcos and his parents were members of the House of Prayer for All People, a religious cult that operated under a system of Old Testament beliefs. Group members ate a kosher diet, wore head coverings and full-length robes, and lived with the expectation of divine judgment.

Founded by Jonah Young in the mid-1980s, his wife, Anna Elizabeth Young, led the group of 24 members. Each member took on a new name after committing to the group. Anna forced them to hand over all their life savings and any valuables they owned.

Anna treated members horribly, especially children. She separated children from their parents, starved them, beat and tortured them, and humiliated them any time they committed what she considered a “sin.” Each member also received 33 lashes with a whip, the same number as Christ before crucifixion, for their sins.

Anna decided that Marcos was “full of the devil,” and ordered his mother, Sabrina Hamburg to abandon him in front of a Catholic church in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Marco’s mother dressed him in a pink bonnet and dress and dropped him off on a park bench in front of a Catholic church.

Life went on without Marcos for Anna and the group. No one ever found out what happened to the toddler.

In 1992, Anna bathed a 12-year-old girl in bleach, causing bleeding that led to severe permanent scars. The girl’s parents took her to an emergency room, leading to charges of child abuse filed against Anna.

Before her arrest, Anna fled with her young daughter, Joy.

Without Anna, the House of Prayer for All People fell apart.

Police caught up to Anna in Alton, Illinois, and sent her to jail for six months on the 1992 child abuse charge. She relocated to Cobb County, Georgia, after her release.

In 2017, Joy came forward to police, accusing her mother of killing a toddler she knew as Moses Young. Police identified the toddler as 2-year-old Emon Harper.

Other cult members supported Joy’s story. They told police Anna had beaten and starved the boy they knew as Moses until they found him dead inside a closet. Witnesses reported that Anna burned his body in a hamper. Police charged Anna with Emon’s murder, although his body has never been found.

At Anna’s trial, former cult members testified about Anna beating Emon’s 2-year-old sister, Katonya Jackson. She withheld the child’s epilepsy medication enough that she died. Officials originally ruled that Katonya died from natural causes, but changed her death to homicide after receiving this new information, Police charged Anna with manslaughter.

Catherine Davidson, Anna’s stepdaughter, disappeared in 1973 at age 6. Joy was not yet born when Catherine disappeared, although she recalled to police how her older sister talked about how Anna bound and gagged the girl and placed her inside a closet in their home in Chicago. Joy said she heard Catherine make noise most of the night, but the noises stopped, and when she peeked inside the closet, Catherine was dead.

Anna Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison

Anna reached a plea deal with prosecutors in February 2021, sentencing her to 30 years in prison. She pleaded no contest in Emon’s case and to manslaughter in Katonya’s death. She died the following month at the age of 79 after serving only 33 days of her sentence.

Marcos Whereabouts Still Unknown

It’s unknown what became of Marcos. He will turn 40 years old this year if he is still alive. The FBI released an age-progressed photo of what Marcos might look like today.

If you have information about this call, call Alachua County Sheriff's Office 352-955-1818.