White House Orders FBI Review of 11 Missing and Dead U.S. Defense Scientists
The White House has ordered the FBI to review 11 missing and dead U.S. defense scientists.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration is working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to review the cases together for possible links. Leavitt promised "no stone will be unturned" and the White House said it would provide updates. President Trump told reporters 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 reporting has compiled a list of at least 11 cases, adding Huntsville researcher Amy Eskridge to an earlier cluster of about 10 since 2023. The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration said it is aware of reports involving employees at its labs, plants and sites and is looking into the matter.
Amy Eskridge, a 34-year-old Huntsville experimental propulsion researcher, was reported to have died by a self-inflicted gunshot on June 11, 2022. Eskridge co-founded the Institute for Exotic Science and had publicly claimed an "antigravity" breakthrough in 2020 before reporting harassment, threats and sabotage. She warned 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. Congressional Republicans, including Rep. Eric Burlison, have urged FBI involvement and said some referrals, such as the case of Matthew Sullivan, were deemed "credible and urgent" by the bureau. Fox has named other individuals linked to defense programs who have vanished or died, while some families and colleagues have questioned whether espionage or foul play is likely.
Early coverage emphasized the odd cluster of deaths and disappearances and often suggested possible links to espionage or national-security risks. Newer reporting, notably pieces in Fox News, has broadened the focus to include family doubts, personal struggles and harassment claims that complicate a simple espionage narrative. Social media analysis and OSINT threads have amplified both alarm and skepticism, flagging patterns among six named cases while highlighting details such as McCasland's classified program roles and unresolved questions in several deaths. The White House review aims to determine whether there are connections and officials said they will provide updates as inquiries proceed.
đź“Ś Key Facts
- The White House is coordinating with the FBI and "all relevant agencies" to review a cluster of cases involving missing or deceased U.S. researchers with access to sensitive U.S. secrets; Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said "no stone will be unturned" and promised updates.
- President Trump said he had "just left a meeting" on the cases, called the situation "pretty serious," said he hoped the incidents were coincidental, and predicted answers within about a week and a half.
- Fox News reports the list has grown to 11 cases with the addition of Amy Eskridge, a Huntsville-based experimental propulsion researcher who died of a reported self-inflicted gunshot on June 11, 2022, at age 34.
- Amy Eskridge co-founded the Institute for Exotic Science, publicly claimed in 2020 that she and colleagues had discovered "antigravity," and said she faced escalating harassment, threats and sabotage—claiming researchers who report unconventional breakthroughs can be pressured out of public view and that she felt forced to publish to protect herself.
- At least 10 U.S. researchers with access to top-level secrets have gone missing or turned up dead since 2023 (now 11 including Eskridge); several reportedly walked out of their homes before vanishing. Fox named others connected to the cluster, including contractor Steven Garcia, Los Alamos–linked employees Melissa Casias and Anthony Chavez, pharmaceutical scientist Jason Thomas, Gen. McCasland, and Monica Jacinto Reza.
- Rep. Eric Burlison (House Oversight Committee) has publicly demanded an FBI probe and said his office referred the death of Matthew Sullivan to the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General and the FBI; Burlison says the FBI deemed that referral "credible and urgent."
- The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration acknowledged it is aware of reports involving employees at its labs, plants and sites and said it is "looking into the matter."
- Some relatives and associates have questioned espionage explanations—for example, McCasland's wife posted that he retired years ago and said it was "quite unlikely" he would have been targeted to extract dated secrets.
đź“° Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- 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."
- 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.
- 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.