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White House Taps FBI As DOE Probes Cluster Of Missing Or Dead U.S. Lab Staff
The White House has asked the FBI to review a string of missing or dead U.S. laboratory staff linked to sensitive research.
The review follows a growing list of researchers and former laboratory staff who have died or vanished since 2022, with some outlets now counting 11 cases including experimental propulsion researcher Amy Eskridge. Eskridge died in June 2022; she publicly claimed unconventional breakthroughs and reported harassment before her death, which Fox News cited as part of the cluster. The White House and its press office say they are working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to review the cases and will provide updates. 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."
Some members of Congress and media outlets urged immediate probes, with Rep. Eric Burlison saying his office referred one case to inspectors and the FBI deemed the referral credible and urgent. President Trump said he had "just left a meeting" on the cases, called the situation "pretty serious," and said he hoped the events were coincidental. CBS reported the FBI is not leading a unified pattern probe but is providing assistance to local investigations. On social media, analysts and commentators pointed to possible patterns, naming missing figures like Monica Jacinto Reza and retired Gen. William McCasland, and called for transparency.
Early coverage, particularly from Fox News, stressed possible links, named numerous individuals, and pressed for an FBI-led investigation. Later reporting, led by outlets such as CBS, introduced more skepticism, emphasizing there is currently no proof the cases are connected and warning against conspiratorial readings of social media threads. The public debate has shifted from alarm to cautious scrutiny, and officials say they will continue local investigations while the White House and FBI review whether any broader pattern exists.
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Scientific Community and Defense Research
U.S. Defense Research and Science
U.S. Defense Scientists Deaths and Disappearances
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This story is compiled from 6 sources using AI-assisted curation and analysis. Original reporting is attributed below. Learn about our methodology.
📌 Key Facts
- Reporting identifies at least 11 U.S. researchers and officials with access to sensitive information who have died or gone missing since 2023, with some cases involving individuals who reportedly walked out of their homes before vanishing.
- Amy Eskridge was added as the 11th case; Eskridge was a Huntsville-based experimental propulsion researcher who co-founded the Institute for Exotic Science, publicly claimed in 2020 that she and colleagues had discovered 'antigravity,' reported escalating harassment and threats, and died of a reported self-inflicted gunshot on June 11, 2022.
- Notable individual cases named in reporting include retired Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, who has been missing from the Albuquerque area since late February after leaving phone, keys and glasses but taking a handgun and boots, and former or contractor employees tied to Los Alamos and other sites such as Steven Garcia, Melissa Casias, Anthony Chavez, Jason Thomas, and Monica Jacinto Reza.
- The White House says the administration and the FBI are actively reviewing all identified cases together to look for potential links, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt promising that no stone will be unturned; President Trump said he had just left a briefing, called the situation 'pretty serious,' and said he hopes the cases are coincidence.
- 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.
- CBS reports the FBI is aware of the cases and is providing requested assistance, but is not currently leading a unified pattern investigation while local law enforcement continues separate inquiries.
- Rep. Eric Burlison of the House Oversight Committee has publicly demanded an FBI and interagency probe, said his office referred the case of Matthew Sullivan to the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General and the FBI, and described the FBI's response as credible and urgent.
- Energy-security and law-enforcement experts and a former Department of Energy official interviewed by CBS said there is no current evidence the cases are linked and cautioned against social-media conspiracy theories, even as public figures such as physicist Dr. Michio Kaku have described the cluster as unprecedented.
📰 Source Timeline (6)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
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