WASHINGTON, D.C.—The FBI is leading an investigation into possible links among at least 10 scientists and researchers connected to sensitive U.S. nuclear and aerospace programs who have died or disappeared since 2023, federal officials confirmed Tuesday.
The cases involve personnel from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Caltech, according to law enforcement and congressional records. Many worked on classified or high-security projects involving space technology, rocket propulsion, plasma physics and nuclear research.
The FBI said it is “spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists” and is working with the Departments of Energy and Defense, NASA and local authorities.
The House Oversight Committee on Monday demanded briefings from the agencies, on unconfirmed reports of at least 10 individuals with ties to “U.S. nuclear secrets or rocket technology” who “died or mysteriously vanished in recent years.”
“The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating recent unconfirmed public reporting on the disappearance and death of individuals with access to sensitive U.S. scientific information. These reports allege that at least ten individuals who ‘had a connection to U.S. nuclear secrets or rocket technology,’ have ‘died or mysteriously vanished in recent years.’ If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets. We request a briefing on any information regarding these deaths and disappearances, as well as the processes and procedures in place to protect American scientific secrets and ensure personnel safety,” wrote House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Eric Burlison (R-Mo.).
The letter by the House Oversight Committee was sent to Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
Public attention surged after German physicist Sabine Hossenfelder posted a video analysis on Wednesday, April 22, calling eight such incidents involving classified space-related research “definitely … odd.”
The 10 persons who have died or disappeared since 2023 in question are:
- Michael David Hicks, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory research scientist who worked on asteroid deflection and comet studies, died July 30, 2023, at age 59. No cause of death was publicly disclosed.
- Frank Maiwald, a longtime JPL principal researcher specializing in advanced satellite and microwave systems, died July 4, 2024, at age 61 in Los Angeles. No cause was released and no autopsy was performed, according to an obituary.
- Monica Jacinto Reza, director of JPL’s Materials Processing Group and co-inventor of a nickel super-alloy used in rocket engines, disappeared June 22, 2025, while hiking in the Angeles Crest Highway area of Los Angeles County. She was 60 and has not been found.
- Anthony Chavez, a former Los Alamos National Laboratory employee, vanished May 8, 2025, while walking near his home in New Mexico. He was 78.
- Melissa Casias, a Los Alamos employee with high security clearance, disappeared June 26, 2025, in New Mexico. Her case remains unsolved.
- Steven Garcia, a 48-year-old government contractor, was last seen leaving his home in Albuquerque on Aug. 28, 2025. He was custodian at the Kansas City National Security Campus, which manufactures nonnuclear components for nuclear weapons.
- Jason Thomas, a researcher at Novartis whose body was discovered in a Massachusetts lake on March 17, 2026. His wife reported him missing on December 12, 2025, after he failed to return home.
- Nuno Loureiro, director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, was shot multiple times at his home Dec. 15, 2025, and died the next day.
- Carl Grillmair, a Caltech astrophysicist who collaborated with NASA on exoplanet and near-Earth object research, was shot to death on his front porch Feb. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles County. A suspect has been charged.
- William Neil McCasland, a retired Air Force major general with ties to propulsion research and connections to alleged UFO programs. He disappeared on February 26, 2026, after leaving his New Mexico home.
Some deaths were ruled homicides with arrests; others are unexplained with no evidence of foul play. No coordinated plot, foreign interference or national-security breach has been publicly established.
Author: Mario Lotmore
