The Disappearance of the Truth Fellowship Cult Leader and His Family

Simon Kadwell moved to Nannup, Australia in 2004. He lived in a modest home along with his girlfriend, Chantelle McDougall. Simon was 45 years old when he vanished, while Chantelle was only 27.

The pair had one child together, a daughter named Leela, who was six years old when she disappeared. There was one more person in the Kadwell household, though, and that was Simon’s friend — 42-year-old Tony Popic. All three adults were members of Simon’s cult the Truth Fellowship.

Truth Fellowship was Simon’s doomsday cult that he started and led. He had roughly 40 followers around the world, who referred to him simply as Si. Kadwell communicated with his followers via their online forum, which they named The Gateway.

In addition, Simon wrote the books Servers of the Divine Plan and The New Call, both of which detail Truth Fellowship’s beliefs that the world will reach a higher state of consciousness after a 75,000-year cycle.

While Chantelle would say that she loved Simon, those who knew her insist that she was brainwashed. One of Chantelle’s friends said that “it seemed like she would do anything he said.”

A detective later clarified the dynamics in the house. “We know that Tony was very protective of Chantelle and Leela but we also know they were obedient, submissive to Kadwell. He had a very persuasive way of talking and I think if he had suggested something they would have gone along with it.”

Simon had an issue with a company called Western Power, as they’d installed a power pole with a transformer near his residence. The cult leader insisted that they were trying to bombard him and his family with electromagnetic waves and that he had to protect his home.

Simon fought back by burying magnets in his yard, with the belief that they’d protect him and his family. He also claimed that he was receiving medication from a doctor that’d ward off the effects of the electromagnetic waves.

According to one of Kadwell’s neighbors, the cult leader was the community weirdo (this shouldn’t surprise anyone).

“Simon was paranoid about electromagnetic fields. He was always ranting and raving about them, up to the point where he was breaking out in hives and his face looked as if it was about to burst, it was so red. This went on for four months […] The second last time I saw him he was covered in hives. He said they were killing him and his daughter.”

Despite the Kadwells’ undeniable oddities, their landlord didn’t seem to mind them. Anne Crouch said the family never made their uniqueness a problem for her. For example, when they decided they didn’t like the carpet’s karma (yes, really), they paid to have it replaced themselves rather than bothering Anne with it.

Crouch also added some insight into the fact that Chantelle was the one who kept the household running. However, she’d leave the house when Simon had meetings with “clients,” none of whom Anne had ever seen.

Weeks before the disappearance, Simon decided to create a pact with Chantelle, Leela, and Tony in which all four of them would end their lives together. Kadwell discussed the idea with his online following, describing the plan as “peaceful.”

His intention was for Chantelle and Leela to consume illegal substances, Simon would then buy their bodies, after which he’d consume the substances himself. It’s unclear what Tony’s role would be in this plan. Kadwell eventually gave up on the idea in favor of moving the family to a remote area.

Police suspect that the catalyst for the Kadwell clan’s disappearance was an incident involving a run-in with the cops. Several days before Simon and his family vanished, he was pulled over while driving.

The police officer involved recalls that Simon became extremely uncomfortable when asked to provide very basic information — his identity. The cult leader didn’t want to tell the officer his name or provide ID. Several days later, he and his family went missing.

Simon Kadwell wasn’t actually the real name of Truth Fellowship’s leader. In reality, he was born in the UK, with the name Gary Felton. The original Simon Kadwell was a former colleague of Gary’s, whose identity Gary had been assuming for roughly 15 years.

It’s believed that when he was pulled over, Gary/Simon feared that his stolen identity would be found out, which led him to create a plan in which he’d disappear altogether.

In 2007, Simon, Chantelle, Leela, and Tony all disappeared without a trace. Their personal belongings were left in their home, but there was no sign of forced entry. The only hint as to what could’ve happened was a note left on their front door, which read “Gone to Brazil.”

However, the police checked flights and no one matching the family’s description even left Australia. In a world full of technology and GPS tracking, the Kadwell clan had somehow managed to completely vanish.

Despite their personal belongings being left behind, it does seem that the Kadwell family had prepared to disappear. Several days before they vanished, Chantelle told her mother that she and Simon were going to Brazil to “prepare the world for a new divine plan.”

They both sold their cars and the two family dogs. Meanwhile, Tony got a loan of $25,000 from his father, who believed that the money was for a “legal matter.”

On July 15th, 2007, a man checked into a hostel called Northbridge, in Perth. He stayed for one night and then took a train to Kalgoorlie the next day. The man used Tony’s ID to check in. However, given Simon’s past identity theft, many believe that he’s the one who stayed there that night.

Whoever it was, it’s believed he was traveling alone. The last person to see the mysterious man was a pizza delivery person, who described the interaction as “unusual” and “creepy.” That definitely sounds like Simon!

While it’s already strange that the Kadwells didn’t take any of their personal belongings with them, what’s even more curious is that they didn’t take anything to live off. Their wallets, including their credit cards, were left at home. There were even dirty dishes still on the kitchen table!

Moreover, no withdrawals had been made from their bank accounts. They didn’t even take out the money they made from selling their cars and dogs right before disappearing. This makes one wonder if their departure went as planned…

Even though there’s no reason to believe the Kadwells left Australia, the note on their door was the police’s only real lead. So, the cops started looking into the possibility of the family being on their way to Brazil.

Things took a sinister turn when, four days after the cult members vanished, a Brazilian flight crashed, tragically leaving no survivors. While no one can be positive, as many of the bodies were injured beyond recognition, both the Australian and Brazilian authorities believe that the Kadwells were not on that flight.

Chantelle, Leela, and Tony aren’t the only people who’ve crossed Simon’s path, never to be seen again. Two Canadian backpackers, a young couple in their 20s, wanted to meet Simon after joining his cult. Tragically, they took their own lives shortly after their encounter with him.

Eerily, one of Simon’s ex-girlfriends went missing shortly after the two took a trip to India together. That being said, there hasn’t been any evidence to link her disappearance to Simon, beyond the creepy coincidence.

It’s important to understand the dynamics between Simon and the rest of his family, in order to comprehend how this could’ve happened. Chantelle and Tony truly believed in Simon’s teachings and, like with any cult, they were isolated from their loved ones.

In fact, Chantelle was defying standards by still keeping in touch with her mother, against Simon’s wishes. It’s also worth noting that psychologists involved in the case have referred to Simon as a “narcissistic conman.”

Every so often, someone claims to have spotted Simon, Chantelle, Leela, Tony, or some combination of the four. There was once an English-speaking girl found in Rome who looked similar to how Leela would look today, and didn’t know where she was.

There was a deceased body of a girl, also thought to be Leela, that was found and unidentified in Australia in 2015. None of these “sightings” ever turned out to be any of the real Kadwell clan.

What makes this case so unbelievable is that despite years of searching and collecting evidence, the police haven’t made any significant progress (which says nothing about their policework, and everything about the peculiarity of the incident).

Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Balfour explained, “It’s such a bizarre story and we have as little an idea of their whereabouts today as we did in 2007 when they disappeared. There’s no evidence to suggest they are dead, just as there’s no evidence to suggest they are alive.”

One possible theory is that Simon ended his family’s life and has, once again, assumed a new identity in order to start over. However, those who knew him insist that the Truth Fellowship leader was incompetent on his own and too dependent on Chantelle’s help to end her life.

That being said, Simon has been labeled as a narcissist by experts. Perhaps he was unaware of how much he relied on his partner to complete daily tasks.

Criminal behavioral psychologist Dr. Kris Geisen weighed in on the theory that Simon harmed his family. “I am fairly confident that Chantelle and Leela are no longer with us, followed by Popic. With Felton [Kadwell], I’m a bit more ambivalent.”

“We can’t ignore his history where he had concealed his identity before. It would not be difficult for him to change his identity and start again. That’s a possibility.” However, not everyone is convinced by this assessment…

Another common thought is that all four members of the Kadwell clan chose to end their lives together. It’s worth noting that Simon had once spoken to a friend about wanting to convince his family to “peacefully” end their lives simultaneously.

That friend managed to talk him out of it by pointing out that Leela was too young to consent to such a pact. But perhaps Simon changed his mind once again, and decided to follow through with it after all?

One of Simon’s ex-girlfriends, Justine Smith, argues that the family pact was inconsistent with the man she knew. She points out that there’d be no reason for the leader of Truth Fellowship to hide his intentions to end his life for a religious reason.

On the contrary, it’s something he’d promote to his following. “It seems strange they would hide a suicide. It’s not beyond belief they would want to go into hiding […] That seems more likely to me.”

Another possibility is that Simon, Chantelle, Leela, and Tony have chosen to disappear and are actually alive and well, but on the run.

The idea is that the four of them assumed new identities, probably for the sake of protecting Simon — whose real identity was on the verge of being found out — and created new lives for themselves. In fact, the coroner assigned to the case said that it’d be “very difficult” for him to exclude that theory.

The people who knew Chantelle best, her parents, believe that Simon had a strong enough hold on their daughter to convince her to run away with him. Chantelle’s mother Catherine McDougall said, “Sometimes I think they have just sort of gone off the grid and are hiding somewhere and just living their quiet lifestyle.”

The detective also pointed out, “Remember, he successfully isolated Chantelle and Leela from their families so it’s perfectly possible they are alive, living off the grid somewhere in Australia or overseas.”

In 2018, coroner Barry King was asked by the courts to assess whether or not the police could responsibly pronounce the Kadwells deceased. Ultimately, King came to the conclusion that there just wasn’t enough evidence in either direction.

He said that, on the one hand, the group’s lack of access to funds and their obsession with “ascending to a high plane” would indicate that they’ve ended their lives. However, the case isn’t quite that cut and dry…

Although there seems to be evidence pointing to the Kadwells’ demise, Barry King pointed out that the theory is inconsistent with Simon’s behavior. “It seems to me that if Simon had truly been motivated to end his life by his desire to be considered a spiritual leader, making his ascension known would have been a powerful message.”

It’s also worth noting that there have been several unconfirmed sightings of the Kadwells — at least four that the police know of.

As of the time of writing, the case of the Kadwell family is still open and is being treated as a missing persons case. According to Nannup Shire Deputy President Robin Mellema, the incident has captured and baffled the people of Australia.

“People still talk about it and wonder where they could have possibly gone. It’s one of those stories where people wonder what really happened. There’s no answer that we can see. It’s an unusual one in that they disappeared without a trace.”

Chantelle’s parents, Leela’s grandparents, Catherine and Jim McDougall won’t give up hope until they have answers. They’ve received testimony from a whopping eight witnesses, yet, no one can find the Kadwells — dead or alive.

Catherine has expressed, “Every day I think of different scenarios of what happened, either they’ve gone through with the suicide pact or they’ve actually disappeared somewhere else […] I just hope that it doesn’t happen to anyone else because it’s just a hard thing to have to go through all this all the time.”

Jim McDougall is convinced that Simon was too conceited to actually end his own life. In fact, he believes that Kadwell has simply found new victims. “I think he’s probably got them hiding somewhere while he is up to his usual tricks of getting money off people by scamming them over the internet with this cult stuff.”

It’s not exactly a preposterous conclusion, seeing as how Simon rarely worked and primarily lived off of charity, his romantic partners’ incomes, and the earnings from his books.

Chantelle, Leela, and Tony’s loved ones aren’t giving up hope. Tony’s family has released a statement in which they implore people to “turn away from self-proclaimed prophets.” Meanwhile, Chantelle’s parents have pleaded for anyone with any information to come forward.

“We just want to know. Whether it’s good news or bad, we just need to know.” Chantelle’s mother has posed the question we’ve all been asking ourselves since the day the Kadwells disappeared — “How can four people just vanish?”