A Former Mayoral Candidate Vanished in April. Now He's Accused of Murdering Member of His Religious Sect

A former politician who was reported missing earlier this year has been arrested in connection with the death of a member of a religious sect the suspect had recently joined. 

Darren Gambrel, who was in his early-30s, was found dead on a farm in Pulaski, Tenn., on Tuesday, Nov. 26, Giles County Sheriff Joe Purvis confirms to PEOPLE. 

The sheriff’s department arrested 39-year-old Adam Arthur Rosenthal in connection with his death, Purvis says. 

Rosenthal was reported missing after he was last seen outside a bar in Gainesville, Fla., in April, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. (The case has since been removed).

Purvis says the suspect was listed as missing under NCIS at the time of his arrest. 

After remaining missing for seven months, Rosenthal came onto law enforcement’s radar following Gambrel’s killing.

On Tuesday, members of The Twelve Tribes, a religious sect with branches around the world, found Gambrel’s body on a farm belonging to the tribe, per Purvis. He had been stabbed multiple times, which was his cause of death. 

Purvis says Gambrel had been a member of the Twelve Tribes for years; Rosenthal reportedly joined the group a few months ago. 

The victim’s fellow group members are devastated.

“Mr. Gambrel was an outstanding member of the community for six or seven years” Purvis says. “They feel like they’ve lost a family member.” 

The Twelve Tribes was started in the 1970s in Tennessee and spread worldwide, with 2,000 – 3,000 current members, per the Associated Press. In 2018, a German court ruled sect members were using “a form of institutionalized violence against minors,” after which the group left the country, per the AP.

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Authorities are investigating the possibility that the suspect may have been involved in “serious crimes” in other states, Purvis says, but did not clarify the nature of the possible crimes.  

“I believe he’s a genuinely dangerous man,” he tells PEOPLE. 

Rosenthal was a mayoral candidate for the city of Gainesville, Fla., in 2022. 

In an interview during his campaign, Rosenthal talked about “having more compassion and understanding for people,” reducing fossil fuel use and building a data-driven “smart city.”

He has been charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence, according to Giles County online records reviewed by PEOPLE. It wasn’t immediately clear if he has entered pleas or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.