2nd Riverside County Home Searched In Connection With Disappearance Of Religious Group Members

ANZA, CA — Investigators appear to be moving closer to learning more about the separate disappearances of two men once affiliated with a Hemet-based religious group known as "His Way Spirit Led Assemblies."

Early Tuesday morning, Redlands police detectives and other law enforcement agencies served a search warrant on a second residence in connection with the disappearance of Emilio Salem Ghanem, a Nashville man last seen at a Redlands coffee shop more than two years ago.

The warrant was served at approximately 5 a.m. at a home located in the 57000 block of Forestry Road in Anza. The desolate area is about 37 miles directly east of downtown Temecula.

Eight people at the home were briefly detained and later released at the scene. There were no arrests, according to the Redlands Police Department.

During the search warrant service, Redlands police were assisted by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force.

The Anza residence, along with another residence in Hemet where police last week served a search warrant, are both connected with the religious group His Way Spirit Led Assemblies, Redlands police said.

During the Aug. 7 search warrant service in Hemet's 26000 block of Pleasant Street, four people were detained but later released; two people were arrested on unrelated charges, Redlands police said.

In both searches, law enforcement recovered evidence in connection with the ongoing investigation, police said, though details about that evidence were not disclosed.

Redlands detectives are working with the Claremont Police Department, which is investigating the disappearance of Ruben Moreno, who was 43 years old at the time he was reported missing. Like Ghanem, Moreno was affiliated with His Way Spirit Led Assemblies.

Moreno had a last known address in Perris, but he was last seen in December 2017 at a residence in the 3900 block of Swarthmore Court in Claremont, where members of His Way Spirit Led Assemblies previously gathered, according to Claremont police.

Moreno was reported missing by a family member in August 2019.

The missing person case of Moreno was of interest to the Redlands Police Department. On Aug. 1, the department said it was following "new leads" in Ghanem's disappearance.

"Redlands detectives recently learned that another member of His Way Spirit Led Assemblies [Moreno] was reported missing in 2019 and has not been seen since," Redlands police announced.

Ghanem was reported missing shortly after he visited a Starbucks restaurant on Redlands Boulevard in Redlands on May 25, 2023.

A rented Nissan Frontier pickup that Ghanem was driving was spotted on surveillance video later that day in the nearby city of Grand Terrace, police said.

The truck and evidence were later recovered, but there was no sign of Ghanem, who was 40 at the time.

Police said Ghanem left His Way Spirit Led Assemblies shortly before his disappearance.

Ghanem worked for Fullshield, Inc., a pest control business owned and operated by His Way Spirit Led Assemblies. The company now operates under the name “Maxguard," according to Redlands police.

Ghanem is described as white, with hazel eyes and black hair, 5 feet, 7 inches tall, 130 pounds. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the Redlands Police Detective Bureau at 909-551-4424 or by email at missingperson_emilio@redlandspolice.org.

Moreno is described as Hispanic, with brown eyes and black hair, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighing 180 pounds. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the Claremont Police Department at 909-399-5411.

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