Los Angeles , California ( CNN ) -- A group of 13 Salvadoran immigrants missing in southern California amid fears that they planned a cult-like mass suicide have been found alive , unhurt and upset to find they were the subjects of an extensive search . Authorities had been scouring the Palmdale area of northern Los Angeles County on horseback and by helicopter Sunday in search of the group , which included eight children between the ages of 3 and 17 , said Steve Whitmore , a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff 's Department . A resident spotted one of the vehicles identified in the lookout at a park and notified the sheriff 's department , he said . One woman in the group told CNN they were `` perfectly OK '' and were shocked and angry to learn that such an extensive search was under way . The woman , who would not give her name , said they had been praying all night in the park , that they had done this routinely and that their husbands were aware of the practice . The search began Saturday afternoon , when the husbands of two women in the group reported them missing , the Sheriff 's Department said . One of the men said their wives were part of a `` cult-like group '' and had been `` brainwashed '' by its leader , and Whitmore said the wife left a purse with her husband and asked her `` to pray over '' it . When the husband opened the purse , he found money , mobile phones and notes that `` talked about meeting Jesus , talked about deceased relatives soon to meet up , '' Whitmore told CNN earlier Sunday . That raised concerns that the group members planned to take their own lives , he said . The husbands told investigators that the group had broken away from a Christian church in the Los Angeles area `` and formed a separate group that included both traditional and non-traditional practices and beliefs , '' the Sheriff 's Department said Saturday . Its leader , whom investigators identified as Reyna Marisol Chicas , had taken her followers on a similar outing six months ago `` in the apparent belief that there was going to be a major earthquake . '' Several members of the group spoke with investigators , and Chicas was held for questioning after giving deputies a false name , Whitmore said . Though no crime had been committed and the group appeared to be praying for 'honest and well-meaning things , '' he said deputies had to investigate once their husbands filed missing persons reports . `` The letters themselves could be interpreted in many ways , '' Whitmore said . `` Now , some of the language in it could be interpreted as saying goodbye as relatives , but that 's an interpretation . '' But given the husbands ' concerns , `` It is better to overreact than underreact , '' he said . CNN Correspondent Thelma Gutierrez contributed to this report .
NEW : Letters ` ` could be interpreted in many ways , '' sheriff 's spokesman said . The entire group has been found alive and unhurt . A woman told CNN that the family is shocked to find out about the letter . Their husbands had expressed their fears to sheriff 's deputies on Saturday .