The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a national investigation into the deaths and disappearances of at least 11 American scientists.
All of these scientists were associated with 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 that “something sinister could happen,” referring to the cases as a potential “serious threat to the national security of the United States.”
Among 11 scientists, 6 people have died, including:
- Jason Thomas, a 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 (shot outside his home on February 16, 2026)
- Nuno Loureiro, director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center (fatally shot outside his home on December 16, 2025)
- Frank Maiwald, principal scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (died July 4, 2024; cause unknown)
- Michael David Hicks, 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, anti-gravity technology, UFO and extraterrestrial life researcher (died 11 June 2022; self-inflicted gunshot wound)
5 people are reportedly missing, including:
- William “Neil” McCasland, former U.S. Air Force Major General (missing February 27, 2026, last known to be hiking in the Sandia Mountains, New Mexico)
- Steven Garcia, a government contractor working at the Kansas City National Security Campus, Albuquerque, New Mexico (missing on August 28, 2025)
- Anthony Chavez, a former employee of Los Alamos National Laboratory (missing on May 8, 2025)
- Melissa Casias, Administrative Officer at Los Alamos National Laboratory (missing June 26, 2025)
- Monica Reza, director of materials processing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, missing on June 22, 2025.
US President Donald Trump also told reporters that officials have briefed him on the cases, describing them as “pretty serious stuff.”
“I hope it’s a coincidence,” he added.
