The most bizarre mystery behind the Church of Scientology

The Church of Scientology, I find it terrifying and so fascinating at the same time. I personally believe it is more of a cult than a specific religion, and I want to stay as far away from it as possible. So I read about it on the internet, you know: from a safe distance. At my previous job, I found out that a colleague was involved with the Church of Scientology (in Amsterdam, then still on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, now they are on the Wibautstraat) and I wanted to subject him to a huge barrage of questions. Why? What attracts you to that church? What do you discuss? Was medium appreciated. Understandable too.

But what I wonder most about the Church of Scientology (besides the question of how high in rank Tom Cruise actually is) is where Michele Miscavige, nickname Shelly, is. She is the wife of David Miscavige, also known as the leader of the Church of Scientology. She was last seen in 2007; we have not known where she is or if she is even still alive for about fifteen years now. How is that possible? Especially since multiple reports have been made about her disappearance? How powerful is the Church of Scientology really?

Shelly came from a family full of Scientologists. Her mother, Flo Barnett, was a devoted member of the church until she died in a mysterious way in 1985. The police classified it as a suicide, which is striking: she was found with three shots in her chest and one in her head – all with bullets from a long rifle. Seems pretty difficult to do that yourself...

Shelly also had a role in the Church of Scientology before her mother's death: she joined the Sea Organization of Scientology, an organization intended for the most devoted followers of the church; members of this group must commit themselves to the Church for years by signing a contract. Within this group, she was part of the Commodore’s Messenger Organization (CMO), the group that personally served the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard. This is also where she met her future husband, David Miscavige. In 1982, she married 22-year-old David at the age of 21.

When L. Ron Hubbard died in 1986, David was appointed as his successor. This meant that Shelly became a sort of The First Lady of a hugely powerful religion, and the Church of Scientology would only become more powerful.

But over the years, things went increasingly worse for Shelly. In 2006, several members of the church said that her appearance and mental state had changed for the worse. She seemed unhappy and unhealthy. But because the Church of Scientology is surrounded by secrets and members did not dare to go against David, nothing was done about it. Some members even claim that she wanted to leave the church, which is the greatest betrayal.

And from then on, everything becomes unclear. In August 2007, she was last seen. Several people have reported her missing, including Leah Remini, the actress who left the church in 2013 and made a documentary about it. By then, she had not been seen by anyone for six years and no one had spoken to her.

In response to the commotion caused by Leah Remini's documentary, the LAPD finally took action. They came out with the following statement: ‘The LAPD has deemed the missing person report unfounded, referring to the fact that Shelly is not missing.’ They said there were detectives who had checked on her and found her alive. They did not want to say where or when.

Now, malicious tongues (and honestly, I believe there is some truth to this) claim that the Church of Scientology is so powerful that they can easily brush off the LAPD. Shelly is still missing, although many members believe she is still alive. Where is she staying then? According to many insiders, she is locked up in a private bunker of her husband David Miscavige.

Want to know more about it? Then read this complete overview on Reddit. Also, Tom Cruise appears in Shelly's story, by the way; she would be the one scouting new ‘relationships’ for him. Really, the Church of Scientology is for me the biggest rabbit hole on the entire internet. And apparently, it is the job of someone named Karin within this church to monitor everything that is written about them on the internet. That’s why in every Reddit topic about Scientology, you often see ‘hi Karin!’ So here it is: hi Karin! Can you tell us where Shelly is?

Image: IMDb