President Donald Trump has received briefings on a series of mysterious disappearances and deaths involving ten scientists connected to NASA, nuclear research, and aerospace projects. The cases, spanning since 2023, have sparked concerns over potential links among individuals with access to sensitive technologies.
Trump Comments on the Situation
Upon arriving at the White House on Thursday, President Trump fielded questions from reporters about whether the incidents appear random or coordinated. “Well, I hope it is random, but we are going to know in the next week and a half,” Trump stated. “I just left a meeting on that subject, so pretty serious stuff. Hopefully, coincidence… but some of them were very important people, and we are going to look at it.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed inquiries during a Wednesday briefing. “I haven’t spoken to our relevant agencies about it. I will certainly do that and will get you an answer,” she said. “If true, of course, that’s definitely something I think this government and administration would deem worth looking into.”
Details of the Disappearances
The pattern of vanishings began with retired Air Force General William Neil McCasland, who disappeared on February 27, 2026, from his New Mexico home. He left without his phone, wearable devices, or glasses, carrying only a pistol. His wife reported to 911 dispatchers that he seemed intent on avoiding detection.
This case mirrors four others from May to August 2025 in the Southwest region, all connected to McCasland through his oversight of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Monica Jacinto Reza, 60, a new director of the Materials Processing Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, vanished while hiking in California on June 22, 2025. Her research focused on Mondaloy, a space-age metal for rocket engines.
Three additional cases involved personnel from major nuclear facilities in New Mexico:
- Steven Garcia, 48, a contractor at the Kansas City National Security Campus in Albuquerque, disappeared on August 28, 2025, after leaving home on foot with only a handgun.
- Anthony Chavez, 79, a retired Los Alamos National Laboratory employee.
- Melissa Casias, 54, an administrative assistant at Los Alamos with top security clearance.
All three departed their homes without phones, keys, wallets, or vehicles, and no updates have emerged since last year.
Related Scientist Deaths
Five scientists in critical research fields have died under suspicious circumstances over the past three years, including two murders. Nuclear physicist Nuno Loureiro and astrophysicist Carl Grillmair were shot in their homes. Loureiro’s fusion research could disrupt the energy sector, while Grillmair contributed to NASA’s NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor projects, sharing systems with military satellite tracking.
At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Michael David Hicks, 59, involved in the DART asteroid deflection mission, and Frank Maiwald, 61, lead on life-detection technology for space missions, died unexpectedly. Maiwald passed away in 2024, just 13 months after his breakthrough.
Separately, pharmaceutical researcher Jason Thomas, testing cancer treatments at Novartis, vanished in December 2025 and was found dead in a Massachusetts lake on March 17, 2026. Authorities report no evidence of foul play.
Investigators continue to examine possible ties to classified space, nuclear, and defense programs.
