CLEARWATER, FLORIDA: The Los Angeles Police Department reportedly shelved the Shelly Miscavige missing case in 2013 after meeting a woman who claimed to be David Miscavige's wife without confirming her identification. Michele "Shelly" Diane Miscavige, famously known as the "First Lady of Scientology”, was reported missing on August 5, 2013, by actress Leah Remini, who grew concerned about her whereabouts when she disappeared after attending her father's funeral in 2007.
Three days after Remini’s complaint, the LAPD met a woman who claimed to be Shelly at a highway-side coffee shop. The woman was accompanied by Jeffrey Riffer, a long-serving Scientology lawyer. Following a brief conversation, authorities left with the woman's ID and fingerprints, which were sent to a lab for processing. Days later, experts concluded that the prints were not identical because the woman's sample was insufficiently comprehensive, according to reporter Yashar Ali. In his report, Ali cited an anonymous police source, who questioned whether the woman might have been trained to give an incomplete fingerprint.
'Scientology has gotten away with this’
Instead of requesting another set of prints, the police officials directly closed the case, and issued a press release, labeling Remini's claim that Shelly was missing as "unfounded". A few days later, the same investigators approached the coffee shop to request CCTV footage of the meeting. Ali, who claims to have seen the footage firsthand, noted in his piece that when the tape was turned over, the video was mysteriously scrambled to make all investigation impossible. Following the release of Ali’s report, Remini questioned police investigation and accused them of painting a "paranoid conspiracy".
"For 10 years, the LAPD and Scientology have tried to paint me as some paranoid conspiracy theorist with a vendetta," she wrote in a tweet. "This news is a relief but it also angers me. I am furious with the coverup and that Scientology has gotten away with this. This information only makes me want to fight for my friend even more. Thank you, Yashar for caring about Shelly. WHERE IS SHELLY???" the actress continued.
Is Shelly still working with Scientology?
Ali’s investigation report came after many Scientology lawyers made claims that Shelly continues to be a devoted Sea Org member and lives a private life. Geoffrey Levin, 77, a music composer who left Scientology in 2018 after enduring serious depression for three years, previously asserted that he heard from church members that Shelly was also going through the same kind of depression.
In 2019, news outlet Magzter reported that the former Scientologist might still be alive as she was allegedly seen leaving a Scientology cruise ship in the Caribbean in mid-December. To this day, it is unknown what happened to Miscavige. Though rumors circulate that she was transported to one of the organization's hidden camps, Scientology representatives assert that their leader's wife is simply hiding out.
