The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a nationwide investigation into the deaths and disappearances of at least 11 American scientists.
All of these scientists were linked to sensitive projects, including nuclear research, space programs and classified defense projects.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) warned that all have a similar pattern, indicating “something sinister could be happening,” referring to these cases as a “potential serious threat to United States national security.”
Among 11 scientists, 6 individuals died, including:
- Jason Thomas, pharmaceutical researcher at Novartis working on cancer treatments (died March 17, 2026; body found in Lake Quannapowitt, Massachusetts)
- Carl Grillmair, a Caltech astrophysicist who worked on NASA’s NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor missions (filmed outside his home on February 16, 2026)
- Nuno Loureiro, director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center at MIT (shot to death in front of his home on December 16, 2025)
- Frank Maiwald, principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (died July 4, 2024; cause unknown)
- Michael David Hicks, research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, worked on the DART project and the Deep Space 1 mission (died July 30, 2023; cause unknown)
- Amy Eskridge, researcher in anti-gravity technology, UFOs and extraterrestrial life (died June 11, 2022; self-inflicted gunshot wound)
5 people are reported missing, including:
- William “Neil” McCasland, former major general in the US Air Force (disappeared February 27, 2026, last known for hiking in the Sandia Mountains, New Mexico)
- Steven Garcia, a government contractor working at the Kansas City National Security Campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico (disappeared August 28, 2025)
- Anthony Chavez, former employee of Los Alamos National Laboratory (disappeared May 8, 2025)
- Melissa Casias, administrative officer at Los Alamos National Laboratory (missed June 26, 2025)
- Monica Reza, director of materials processing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, died on June 22, 2025.
US President Donald Trump also told reporters that officials had briefed him on the cases, calling them “pretty serious things.”
“I hope it’s random,” he added.
