Where is the missing wife of Scientology's ruthless leader? | 60 Minutes Australia

welcome to Clearwater Florida and the spiritual headquarters of the controversial Church of Scientology but this is a place where we're not welcome we are trying to find out why serious allegations against this church refused to go away they include disturbing practices like splitting up families verbal and physical abuse even holding employees prisoner but Scientologists take extreme measures to avoid external scrutiny measures it seemed that come at the direction of their leader the mysterious David Miscavige who is at the center of the church's greatest mystery of all the whereabouts of his wife Shelly missing now for 13 years we're driving through this remote mountain range on the trail of missing woman Shelly Miscavige we certainly feel like you're away from civilization up here don't you yeah the beauty here is matched only by the isolation making this the perfect hideaway or hiding spot this is as secret as it gets most Scientologists had no idea existed and and according to whistleblower Tony Ortega this is where Shelly could well be in a secret compound that is also home to a doomsday vault no matter how beautiful the setting it just seems cool Shelly is the high priestess of Scientology who vanished 13 years ago while the church won't speak of it the belief is Shelly has been banished to this mountain prison by her husband the leader of the church the all-powerful David Miscavige I think there are a couple places where david miscavige puts people and this is one of them shellie she'll never be free your daughter-in-law my daughter-in-law tonight David Miscavige's own father Ron Miscavige gives candid insight into his son's cruelty do you think he has the ability the will to order his wife be locked away absolutely there's no question about it next stop infinity I know it's difficult to believe but the worst thing about this is I'm telling you the truth that's the worst goddamn thing that's going on in this interview this happens these are pretty bad people but they don't have a conscience and that that lets them do it we barely embarked on our story when we got this seven-page letter from the Church of Scientology's public affairs department putting 60 minutes on notice to use their words they had no direct knowledge of what our story was even about but somehow had learned that Ron Miscavige was a part of it they accused us of inciting hate at the very same time going out of their way to smear on a former 42 year veteran of the church always attack always attack always attack never defend attack attack attack if there's no evidence manufacturer come up with something feed lured sex blood crimes to the press that is Scientology policy and that's what they do Mike Rinder knows because before he left the church he was one of its most senior enforces and spin-doctors today he's joined forces with Hollywood actress and former Scientologists Leah Remini to call out the church on what it does to people you're creating antisocial people like psychotics because what what we were behind the scenes is insane as well as exposing the church Lea and Mike are crusading for Shelley Miscavige's freedoms they say she's been locked away for more than a decade to protect the church's secrets do you believe that Shelly Miscavige is a threat today oh absolutely yeah absolutely she's seen it all she's been by his side the whole time this is the way the church deals with scrutiny they're committing suppressive acts intimidation vilification and cameras are part of their well practice routine to bully and harass people who deadly or criticize Scientology and investigating you on your actions against the Church of Scientology our camera crew was immediately in their sights no respect just for filming one of their buildings in Los Angeles you know this is an our church is that normally the way you treat people still in the early stages of our story and too soon to ask for official comment we earned this angry attack why the Church of Scientology media village we won't why haven't you we well where is Shelly Miscavige why haven't you contacted media relations for the Church of Scientology the question of where Shelly Miscavige is goes unanswered by this representative who also won't identify herself you're creating threats against very innocent wonderful people but you won't even bother to contact the Church of Scientology needed relations I've told you she has a mantra but still no answers and her next tactic is to get personal here and making it seem dark and mysterious now that does is you create threats against us very innocent people are you gonna do and like another piece I heard about when you kidnapped those two children is this good is that how you're gonna do this are you that dishonest the public face of Scientology is far more benevolent selling itself through celebrity glamour I'm part of a frontier in a way you know that very few people ever get to be part of its most famous recruit is Hollywood's biggest star Tom Cruise these are the times were you there but this religion based on self-help psychology was the 1950 creation of a mere mortal a science fiction writer l ron Hubbard do you ever think that you might be quite mad oh yeah l ron Hubbard was the master of making people believe the unbelievable in return for vast sums of money he'd convinced them to relinquish their secrets through so-called auditing of their emotions and experiences and then after years of expensive courses he would let them in on his sacred scriptures that sent it around an alien dictator called Xena when you do get to that information about Xena at that point do you start to question yes and question yourselves that you've been yeah when you get to those levels you start to go this is this is all a lie yeah it's pretty sad you spend your whole life and you know some of us millions of dollars some their life savings co-star of hit sitcom King of Queens Leah Remini was signed up to Scientology by her mom when she was just nine similarly Shelly Miscavige was given into the sole care of l ron Hubbard by her parents when she was 12 she had to sign a ludicrous billion-year contract to work for almost nothing I mean it's still going on today parents are giving up their children to go join this New York they think that's the most important thing that they could do is to give their children to Scientology could you imagine that no over my dead body it was in the Sea Org that Shelley met the young David Miscavige both so devoted to l ron hubbard they were Scientology's perfect power couple with the death of Elrond David ultimately assumed leadership and his wife Shelley was second in charge they were the king and queen of Scientology and then in 2005 Shelley disappeared so when did you first ask where where are you where are charms wedding in 2006 Tom Cruise's wedding yet to Katie Holmes reserve because she wasn't there which wasn't there this is the Scientology was calling it the wedding of the century it would be really natural question to ask wouldn't it it was scatter scatter scatter never I was standing by a fireplace and this big castle and I'm like hey where's Shelley and all the sudden everybody's Lea walks away and I was like hey oh coming that card you just you guys getting a drinker Shelly Miscavige being missing it is literally like suddenly Prince Phillip shows up and there's no Queen I'm serious I can't well I got biggest events you know for the for the Queen's birthday celebration there's Prince Phillip and and Harry and Charles and no Queen their account may be funny but the simple question of where is Shelly Miscavige brought with it a world of pain for Lea she was summoned to Scientology headquarters in Clearwater Florida there she was forced to undergo intense auditing for three to four months for her crime the interrogation all day all night what are your evil intentions towards mankind l ron Hubbard Tom Cruise and it didn't end until I had to admit to things that I didn't feel and until I said Tom Cruise is an amazing humanitarian as well David Miscavige and they are that the only hope that man has was I able to leave and that cost me $300,000 yeah and I did it Tony is a gold bass as benign as it looks so many nightmare stories come out of this location but longtime critic of the church Tony Ortega says Shelly and David Miscavige lived together in palatial comfort here at the gold-based compound an hour-and-a-half east of La until 2005 it's believed that summer while David was away Shelly finished some outstanding administration without her husband's approval that action it seems sealed her fate he just blows his stag and I've got eyewitnesses to this thesis he had the biggest temper tantrum of all time a week later she vanished the fact that at the time no one did ask where Shelly was including her own father-in-law Ron Miscavige is a chilling insight into the way David Miscavige rules the church she disappears from sight did you ask David where she was your daughter-in-law didn't listen you don't ask Dave a question like that you just wouldn't do it I could not say to him or Shelly just wouldn't do it but Ron is convinced Shelly is alive what do you think her state of mind might be resignation she has no hope whatever of ever getting into good graces if Dave or going for you none coming up calling for answers will the church leader pick up the phone I'd like to get through to speak to my son plus a religion by fear did David Miscavige ever meet you many times senator and haunted by mystery we'd like to talk to you about Shelly Miscavige on 60 minutes I'd like to get through to speak to David Miscavige that's my son this is Ron Miscavige Ron Miscavige is trying to reach his son the leader of the Church of Scientology David Miscavige do you think she's looking for the number all this time no I think she's gotten into a point of indecision not knowing what to do today Ron is put on hold for nearly five minutes before being transferred to an answering machine hey this is Ron Miscavige as disappointing as this is for Ron it comes as no real surprise you can get through to David tell me give me a call have a good day Ron's been shunned by his son since he left the church seven years ago I'm no longer a person in his life I miss the fact of the matter okay Godspeed lightning speed enter it's a pattern David Miscavige seems to have perfected shunning not just his father but also his wife Shelly Miscavige who vanished thirteen years ago with Shelly's parents did actress Leah Remini is taking action to find her what do you think has happened to Shelly I don't know I mean that's why I filed a police report missing persons report it's just no you're not getting any answers we don't have to answer you Shelly is fine and she's alive and well and that's the PR line and do you believe that line no I don't police say Leah's missing person report was unfounded a finding she won't accept Leah wants proof from the police they met with Shelly proof from the church that Shelly is okay do you believe she's alive I hope so as preposterous and shocking as the Shelly Miscavige case may seem making people disappear is not alien to this so-called religion here at the gold-based compound senior executives of the church up to 120 at one time were banished to a makeshift prison called the hole for unknown crimes and given sentences that seem never-ending some of those executives have been imprisoned now for 15 years the whereabouts of others is still unknown it really is quite unbelievable there was no end there wasn't like you a sentence for a week a sentence for a month or until X Y & Z happens it was just you went in there and then sort of tried to figure out what you were supposed to do in order to qualify to get out the hole was two double-wide trailers joined together with bars on the windows and guards at the doors those imprisoned were given slops to eat the floor to sleep on and sometimes no electricity physical abuse was also part of the daily diet despite his senior role as international spokesperson for the church Mike Rinder was sent there for two years did David Miscavige ever beat you many many times and what did you witness him beat others many many many times I've seen David Miscavige beat people up hundreds of times does he have a conscience yeah you know I really don't know and if I don't know I guess he doesn't have one because some of the things he does I couldn't do having broken away Ron Miscavige and his second wife Becky and now enemies of the church which means under Scientology law they've been cut off from their loved ones who continue to follow the faith you know I feel grief II because look I lost my family it's like they're dead did they're gone my two daughters my grandchildren but to attain freedom it was worth it because this church is not a church it's a cult in every sense of the word Ron and Becky's escape from this cult is an extraordinary story in itself Scientology was their spiritual home for 42 years but in 2012 they knew they had to get out I was 76 years old and I'm the father of the chairman of the board nobody thinks I'm gonna escape that was the biggest cover I had if they'd caught you trying to escape you and your wife what would they have done to you I would have never gotten a sense if I'd have been caught doing that then I would have had a security guard watch me 24 hours a day for the rest of my life it was Sunday morning the 25th of March 2012 and with their bags secretly packed they made a run for us my heart is in my throat the gate opens as is Becky returning left I turned left and stomped my foot on the accelerator and when we're getting close to Wisconsin Becky called she called her brother Donnie and she said Donnie I'm coming home this is terrible I'm sorry let me get composed here and he said out loud he says somebody get me a drink Becky's on the way home said a moment of joy sorry that's all right well why does it make you emotional do you think [ __ ] Eric so next question coming up half a billion dollars worth of property Scientology's enormous wealth the biggest single source of income for Scientology in the world name it could be the greatest kind that's ever been practiced on the public and could this be with Shelly Miscavige is so that's just too frustrating I know I was telling you we're gonna get very close to her if she's in there that's next on 60 minutes Clearwater here we come yep Clearwater is the biggest single source of income for Scientology in the world that makes Clearwater Florida the Scientology tax-free capital of the world as Australian and former Scientologists mike rinder points out the biggest and best buildings here belong to the church worth almost half a billion dollars and then of course we're coming up to the big one which is they call the super power building or the flag building most guling the massive investment seems to be a front most of these buildings stand virtually empty in this day and age who can afford half a billion dollars worth of property to sit effectively empty scientology care scientology takes in enormous amounts of cash and they don't like giving it away they don't like spending it on the poor but as a religion that has the privilege of tax-free income Scientology is required to give back to the community the allegation is they say they do that by providing services here but Mike Rinder says those services are rarely used in large part Scientology has become a fundraising and real-estate Empire rather than a spiritual religious empire mic and actress Leah Remini produce and present Scientology and the aftermath an emotional TV series exposing terrible suffering at the hands of the church if there is one thing that is the common thread that we see throughout the the stories of Scientology it's broken families it's destroyed families people who are being forced to disconnect from other family members and that shouldn't happen to anyone anywhere at any time especially an organization calling itself a religion the church would have the world believe that Shelly Miscavige has chosen to vanish I mean it's a beautiful place were in here but author attorney Ortega is adamant her disappearance needs to be investigated we're just a kilometer from the village of Twin Peaks at the Church of spiritual technology a secret arm of Scientology which is guarded by cameras and high fences it's here half a dozen devotees are inscribing on titanium plates the words of l ron Hubbard to preserve them for the next six thousand years stored in an underground bunker so it's not so much about what they've got to hide but what they've got to protect exactly there's another camera there another one there Tony Ortega says for different people from within Scientology have told him that this is where Shelly Miscavige has been for the last 13 years leave this building on the corner is the residence of the person that runs this facility okay and the one next to it may be where Shelly lives just yeah yeah right here well that's just too frustrating like I know I was telling you we're gonna get very close to her if she's in there as we approach the compound it's eerily quiet with no one in sight there's certainly no answer at the gate despite multiple attempts to raise someone now they wouldn't have abandoned the site with them though they're in there and while there are cars in the drive and lights on it seems no one's home at the guard station across the road either hello we'd like to talk to you about Shelly Miscavige hello if you can see us please come out we'd like to talk to you so do you think they know we're here oh yeah of course they know there's cameras on every square inch of this place Shelly's supporters believe she's now so indoctrinated and trained in the ways of the church she would never leave even if given the chance just seems like an incredibly cruel thing to do it's I just I don't I don't understand some of the people that say well she's probably okay I mean how do we know we don't know it's incredible that this is going on in the United States right now I just want to know where Shelly with the Church of Scientology I'll say it over and over again do your job right I don't think you'd actually give us an answer if you try you might get someplace Wow as promised we did contact the church their representatives said our request to interview David Miscavige was preposterous a lawyer acting for Shelly Miscavige told us she's not missing and she's disgusted with Leah Remini for suggesting she is you know of course because you've heard it many times that the heads of Scientology deny everything you're saying they say that you were never beaten nobody ever beats you you were never tortured you were never in the hole okay you're yours but you know you're just seeking publicity and you you're a stalker of Shelly Miscavige right I you know it's getting boring the this response from Scientology and I'm gonna say it I'll say it every time now cut the [ __ ] if what we're saying is untrue sue us me and Mike we're ready for the lawsuit so that's what I keep saying we welcome you lawsuit we welcome Ron Miscavige - says he will not be cowered by the church or his son David now that he's escaped Scientology he's intent on warning others that this is not a church but a con it could be the greatest kind that's ever been practiced on the public I'm not doing this for pleasure I'm a musician I do that for pleasure this I do out of duty I'm a United States Marine veteran we don't walk with our tail between our legs but when your enemy is your son it must be a very hard thing to do to talk about it it's hard for me to do it but I'm not a goddamn victim I'm doing something about it hello I'm Tara brown thanks for watching to keep up with the latest from 60 minutes Australia make sure you subscribe to our Channel you can also download the 9 now app for full episodes and other exclusive 60 minutes content

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 6,707,056

Rating: 4.7671494 out of 5

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Charles Wooley, Tara Brown, Liam Bartlett, Allison Langdon, Peter Overton, Ray Martin, Jana Wendt, Jennifer Byrne, Richard Carleton, Tracey Curro, Peter Harvey, George Negus, Ian Leslie, Gerald Stone, Scientology, Shelly Miscavige, David Miscavige, tom cruise, john travolta, religion, cult, Leah Remini, whistleblower Tony Ortega, Ron Miscavige, cruelty, Mike Rinder, investigation, L Ron Hubbard, alien dictator Xenu, Sea org

Id: P7QWifeY2_A

Length: 25min 51sec (1551 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 11 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

A while ago, the Church of Scientology released a letter supposedly written by Shelly Miscavige stating she was alive and well and living in an undisclosed location away from the public in order to become deeper with her faith. The Church believed the case to be closed but critics of the Church, including Leah Remini, aren’t remotely convinced.

Leah and Shelly were supposedly friends and Leah seems genuinely distraught over her apparent disappearance.

[u/AldenDiola]

Does the average scientologist know about this story and if they do how do they rationalize it away?

[u/unitool]

She ded.

[u/BarcaNoVa]

It's amazing the government allows this so called religion to get away with all of this

[u/Th3Batman86]

Do want to make sure everyone knows that Reddit takes Ad Revenue from Scientology https://i.redd.it/zjb31yb5htg21.jpg

[u/Cannot_go_back_now]

My brother just told me a story about his pool league buddy who's family had him kidnapped and taken to rehab for alcoholism, Little did they realize it was a scientology rehab. Once he was able to make a phone call, a month after the abduction, he called his grandmother to tell her it was a scientology thing and that they were torturing him and making him watch recruiting videos. Crazy shit.

[u/BBoTFTW]

Leah Remini talks about her friend, Shelly Miscavige's disappearance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mQOxAW7UV0

She was told "she doesn't have the rank" to ask about the leader's wife disappearance.

[u/c3ntrifuge]

She was murdered. She’s straight up dead.

[u/1370055]

Fuck Scientology. Bring the horror down. Scientology has been destroying lives and families since December 1953. Shelly is one of many issues. Go to the root.