Redlands police serve search warrant at home connected to 2023 disappearance

Redlands police on Wednesday served a search warrant at a Hemet home connected to the 2023 disappearance of a Nashville man who was last seen at a local Starbucks. 

Emilio Salem Ghanem was reported missing shortly after he visited a Starbucks on Redlands Boulevard on May 25, 2023, according to the Redlands Police Department. Detectives believe he drove away in a white Nissan Frontier, which was later recovered. 

Investigators said that Ghanem was a member of "His Way Spirit Led Assemblies," a religious organization based in Hemet for nearly 20 years. Detectives said he left the organization shortly before he disappeared. He also worked for Fullshield, Inc., a pest control business owned and operated by the religious group, which now operates under the name Maxguard, according to police. 

More than two years after his disappearance, Redlands police served a search warrant at a home used by the religious organization in the 26000 block of Pleasant Street in Hemet. Detectives said they recovered evidence related to their investigation and arrested two people on unrelated charges. 

Redlands PD has been working with the Claremont Police Department after learning that another member of His Way Spirit Led Assemblies was reported missing in 2019. 

Ruben Moreno, 41, was last seen in Dec. 2017 at a home he shared with other members of the religious organization in the 3900 block of Swarthmore Court, according to the Claremont Police Department. Moreno's family reported him missing in August 2019. 

"We are aware of public interest in possible connections between this case and a separate missing persons investigation out of Redlands," Claremont PD said in a press release. "At this time, the only similarity between the two cases are the individuals' ties to His Way Spirit Led Assemblies."

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the RPD at (909) 551-4424 or the CPD at (909) 399-5411.