Calif. Man Vanished in 2017 Under Odd Circumstances — Was His Disappearance Linked to a Religious Group?
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NEED TO KNOW
- Ruben Moreno was last seen in Dec. 2017 at a residence in Claremont, where members of the religious group His Way Spirit Led Assemblies lived
- Another member of the religious group also disappeared
- Emilio Ghanem, a former member, vanished without a trace in 2023 while in Southern California on a business trip
California investigators are looking into the disappearance of a man who is known to be connected to a religious group.
Police said Ruben Moreno was 41 when he was last seen in Dec. 2017 at a residence in the 3900 block of Swarthmore Court in Claremont, where members of the religious group His Way Spirit Led Assemblies lived at the time.
Moreno was living at the residence with other members when he vanished.
Police said the religious group no longer resides at the property.
Moreno’s family reported him missing in August 2019.
“The circumstances surrounding Ruben’s disappearance remain under investigation, and at this time, the Claremont Police Department is not commenting on whether foul play is suspected,” police said.
Moreno is not the only person with ties to the religious group that has allegedly gone missing. In May of 2023, Emilio Ghanem vanished without a trace while on a business trip in Southern California, ABC7 reported.
Redlands police said Ghanem was a former member of His Way Spirit Led Assemblies and worked for their pest control company, per ABC7. He left the group before his disappearance and moved to Nashville, according to ABC7.
Redlands Police Department/Facebook
Police said Ghanem had plans to meet a potential client at a Starbucks restaurant on the day he disappeared, ABC7 reported.
“A short time later we did get video surveillance of a rental truck he was driving in Grand Terrace, but then that truck also disappeared,” Redlands Police Department spokesperson Karl Baker told ABC7.
In a press statement on Aug. 6, the Claremont Police said the department was “aware of public interest in possible connections between this case and a separate missing persons investigation out of Redlands. At this time, the only known similarity between the two cases are the individuals’ ties to His Way Spirit Led Assemblies. The cases are being investigated separately by their respective agencies.”
His Way Spirit Led Assemblies could not be reached for comment.