Photo: Diego Delso | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons
White House And DOE Probe Cluster Of Missing Or Dead U.S. Scientists In Sensitive Research Roles
The White House and Department of Energy are reviewing a cluster of U.S. scientists who have recently died or gone missing. Officials and media outlets say the tally has grown to at least 11 cases spanning 2022 to 2026, including deaths and unexplained disappearances. Several involved people had roles at national labs, NASA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, or companies tied to defense and pharmaceutical research. The White House says it is working with the FBI and "all relevant agencies" to look for links, and the National Nuclear Security Administration says it is "looking into the matter." President Trump said he had "just left a meeting" and called the situation "pretty serious," saying he hoped the cases were coincidental and expected answers soon.
Lawmakers, reporters, and online analysts have amplified concern while urging investigations. Rep. Eric Burlison publicly called for FBI and inspector general probes and said some referrals were treated as "credible and urgent." Social media and OSINT analysts highlighted patterns and named people such as retired Maj. Gen. William McCasland, aerospace engineer Monica Jacinto Reza, and Huntsville researcher Amy Eskridge. Eskridge, who co-founded a private research group and claimed an "antigravity" breakthrough in 2020, died by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot in 2022. Some cases have clear criminal developments, for example the recent arrest of a suspect in the February 2026 shooting death of Caltech scientist Carl Grillmair.
Coverage has shifted from alarm to cautious skepticism as more reporting and official statements emerged. Early stories, notably on conservative outlets, emphasized an "unheard of" pattern and raised possibilities of espionage or shadow operations. Later pieces, including reporting by CBS News, stressed there is no current evidence tying the cases together and noted the FBI is not leading a single, unified pattern probe. That shift frames the debate between legitimate national security concern and the risk of speculative or conspiratorial interpretations.
National Security and Intelligence
Scientific Community and Defense Research
U.S. Defense Research and Science
U.S. Defense Scientists Deaths and Disappearances
Trump Administration
This story is compiled from 7 sources using AI-assisted curation and analysis. Original reporting is attributed below. Learn about our methodology.
đź“Ś Key Facts
- At least 11 U.S. researchers with access to sensitive or top‑level secrets have died or vanished since 2022/2023; the list grew to 11 when Amy Eskridge (Huntsville experimental propulsion researcher) was newly cited — she died June 11, 2022 of an apparently self‑inflicted gunshot and had publicly claimed unconventional discoveries and reported harassment.
- Reported cases span nuclear science, space research and related roles and include retired Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland (missing from the Albuquerque area since Feb. 27, 2026), Los Alamos–linked employees Anthony Chavez and Melissa Casias, Kansas City National Security Campus contractor Steven Garcia, aerospace engineer Monica Jacinto Reza, Novartis scientist Jason Thomas (body found in Lake Quannapowitt), Caltech scientist Carl Grillmair (shot Feb. 16, 2026; suspect charged), Nuno Loureiro (Dec. 2025 shooting tied to a Brown University mass shooting), and others whose causes remain publicly undisclosed (e.g., Michael David Hicks, Frank Maiwald).
- Several individuals reportedly walked out of their homes before vanishing and multiple cases cluster in New Mexico; the incidents involve employees or contractors at DOE labs, plants and sites.
- The White House says it is reviewing all identified cases and is working with "all relevant agencies and the FBI," with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt promising "no stone will be unturned;" President Trump said he had been briefed, called the situation "pretty serious," hoped it was a coincidence and predicted answers within about a week and a half.
- The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) issued a statement that it is aware of reports related to employees at its labs, plants and sites and is "looking into the matter."
- The FBI is "aware and providing all assistance requested" but, according to reporting, is not currently leading a unified pattern investigation while local investigations proceed; Rep. Eric Burlison has publicly demanded an FBI probe and said his office referred the case of Matthew Sullivan to the OIG and FBI, which deemed the referral "credible and urgent."
- Experts are divided: some high‑profile figures (including Dr. Michio Kaku in coverage) describe the number of deaths and disappearances as "unheard of" and alarming, while other energy‑security and law‑enforcement experts and a former DOE official see no obvious link and caution against conspiratorial social‑media theories; suggestions that individuals were targeted for their knowledge or forced to disappear are presented as speculation.
đź“° Source Timeline (7)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
April 19, 2026
12:00 PM
String of scientist deaths, vanishings fuels expert talks of shadow ops and silenced secrets: 'Very serious'
New information:
- Fox identifies at least 11 specific individuals who have died or vanished since 2022, most tied to nuclear science, space research, or related work, and names several with photos and role details.
- New case specifics include the February 16, 2026 shooting death of Caltech scientist Carl Grillmair outside his home, with 29-year-old Freddy Snyder charged with his murder.
- Details on other cases include the December 2025 shooting of Nuno Loureiro at his Massachusetts home tied to a Brown University mass shooting, and the later discovery of Novartis scientist Jason Thomas's body in Lake Quannapowitt after he went missing.
- The article reiterates that causes of death for some, including former JPL scientist Michael David Hicks and NASA JPL scientist Frank Maiwald, remain publicly undisclosed.
- It restates that aerospace engineer Monica Reza, Kansas City National Security Campus worker Steven Garcia, retired Air Force Gen. William Neil McCasland, and others remain missing under what are described as suspicious circumstances.
- An expert quoted by Fox raises the possibility that some of the scientists could have been targeted for their knowledge or forced to disappear for their own protection, although this is presented as speculation rather than confirmed fact.
April 18, 2026
11:00 AM
Renowned physicist alarmed by 'unheard of' number of scientists dying or vanishing now on White House's radar
New information:
- Identifies Dr. Michio Kaku as a prominent physicist publicly warning that at least 10 scientists with advanced security clearances have died or vanished, calling the pattern 'unheard of.'
- Provides concrete case details for several incidents, including the Feb. 27 disappearance of retired Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland from his New Mexico home, leaving phone, keys and glasses but taking a handgun and boots.
- Names two additional missing former Los Alamos National Laboratory employees, Anthony Chavez and Melissa Casias, including dates and circumstances of their disappearances and their ties to the lab.
- Quotes NNSA acknowledging that it is aware of reports related to employees of its labs, plants and sites and is 'looking into the matter.'
- Quotes White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirming that the administration and FBI are 'actively reviewing all cases' to look for potential commonalities.
April 17, 2026
9:19 PM
What we know about deaths, disappearances of staff at government labs
New information:
- President Trump told reporters he had 'just left a meeting' on the disappearances and deaths and called it 'pretty serious stuff,' while adding he hopes it is a coincidence.
- CBS reports the FBI is not currently leading a unified pattern investigation but is 'aware and providing all assistance requested' as local cases proceed.
- The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration issued a statement saying it is 'aware of reports related to employees of our labs, plants, and sites and is looking into the matter.'
- Retired Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, has been missing from the Albuquerque area since late February and is one of four current or former employees at sensitive sites who have gone missing in New Mexico over roughly the last year.
- A former Department of Energy official told CBS there is no evidence the cases are linked and emphasized that many lab employees hold mundane, non-sensitive jobs despite 'sketchy sounding' titles.
- Multiple energy security and law enforcement experts interviewed by CBS said they see no obvious link between the individual cases and viewed social-media theories as conspiratorial.
7:02 PM
White House reviewing cases of missing, dead scientists for possible links as 11th person identified
New information:
- White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the Trump administration is working with "all relevant agencies and the FBI" to review all identified cases together for possible links.
- Leavitt issued a written statement on X promising that "no stone will be unturned" and that the White House will provide updates.
- President Trump said he had "just left a meeting" on the cases, called the situation "pretty serious," and predicted answers within about a week and a half.
- Fox News reports the list of cases has grown to 11 with the addition of Huntsville-based researcher Amy Eskridge, who died in 2022 at age 34.
- The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration acknowledged awareness of reports involving employees at its labs, plants and sites and said it is "looking into the matter."
5:40 PM
Rep Burlison demands FBI probe after top US scientists vanish or turn up dead
New information:
- House Oversight Committee member Rep. Eric Burlison has publicly called for the FBI and 'every agency' to investigate the cluster of scientists' deaths and disappearances.
- Burlison says his office referred the case of Matthew Sullivan, who died by suicide under what he calls suspicious circumstances, to the Office of Inspector General and the FBI, and that the FBI deemed the referral 'credible and urgent.'
- The piece recounts that McCasland's wife publicly posted on Facebook that he retired years ago and that it is 'quite unlikely that he was taken to extract very dated secrets from him,' injecting skepticism about espionage motives.
- The Fox hit reinforces that at least 10 U.S. researchers with access to top-level secrets have gone missing or turned up dead since 2023, and highlights that several (including Monica Jacinto Reza, Anthony Chavez, Melissa Casias, Steven Garcia, and McCasland) reportedly walked out of their homes before vanishing.
- President Trump is quoted saying he has just left a briefing on the cases, hopes they are 'coincidence,' and will know more soon, but he does not say whether he believes the cases are connected.
3:37 PM
11th scientist death emerges in string of missing, dead officials with access to US secrets
New information:
- Amy Eskridge, a Huntsville-based experimental propulsion researcher who died by reported self-inflicted gunshot on June 11, 2022, is now being cited as the 11th case in the cluster.
- Eskridge co-founded the Institute for Exotic Science and publicly claimed in 2020 that she and colleagues had discovered 'antigravity,' after which she described escalating harassment, threats and sabotage.
- She warned in a recorded interview that researchers who report unconventional breakthroughs can be pressured out of public view or 'disappear' from publishing, and said she felt forced to publish to protect herself.
- The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration gave Fox News a statement confirming it is aware of reports about employees at its labs, plants and sites and is 'looking into the matter.'
- President Trump told reporters he had 'just left a meeting' on the string of cases, called the situation 'pretty serious,' and said he hoped it was random but expected answers within roughly a week and a half.
- Fox names and visually highlights additional individuals in the cluster, including contractor Steven Garcia, Los Alamos–linked employees Melissa Casias and Anthony Chavez, and pharmaceutical scientist Jason Thomas, alongside previously noted names like Gen. McCasland and Monica Jacinto Reza.
April 16, 2026