38 revolver. Monica Reza, a 60-year-old aerospace engineer and director of the Materials Processing Group at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, disappeared while hiking in Angeles National Forest in June 2025, according to one of her companions. Astrophysicist Carl Grillmair, 67, was murdered on his front porch on February 16, 2026; his work was supported by NASA's JPL, multiple reports indicate.
Amy Eskridge, 34, a scientist researching anti-gravity technology, was found dead from a gunshot to the head in Huntsville, Alabama, on June 11, 2022; her death was ruled a suicide but some allege murder, according to independent findings submitted to Congress. Steven Garcia, 48, a government contractor with top security clearance at US nuclear weapons facilities, disappeared in August 2025 after leaving home with a handgun, major media report. Anthony Chavez, 79, and Melissa Casias, 54, both Los Alamos National Laboratory workers, disappeared after leaving their homes without phones, keys, or wallets, according to multiple reports.
Nuclear physicist Nuno Loureiro was fatally shot in his home in December 2025, major media report. Michael David Hicks, a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, died on July 30, 2023, at age 59 from unknown causes, with no public autopsy record. Frank Maiwald, a 61-year-old German-born researcher at JPL, died on July 4, 2024, with the cause of death never disclosed, according to research.
Hopefully it is all just a coincidence.
The Daily Mail has reported 11 scientists with links to America's space and nuclear programs who have disappeared or died under unusual circumstances. Eskridge's death marks the eleventh person with ties to America's space or nuclear secrets who has died or mysteriously vanished, according to multiple reports. The deaths and disappearances spanned a period of four years, research indicates.
McCasland was involved in UFO investigations after his 2013 retirement, multiple reports state. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration would look into the disappearances if true. President Donald Trump said he was briefed on the cases, called them 'pretty serious stuff,' and expects answers in the next week and a half.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau is 'spearheading the effort' to uncover possible links between the cases. Congressman James Comer sent letters demanding investigations by the FBI, Pentagon, NASA, and Department of Energy into the deaths and disappearances. The House Oversight Committee is investigating 10 of the cases, according to research.
My father had struggled with known medical issues and I do not understand the connection between his death and the other missing scientists.
S. national security. Congressman Eric Burlison co-signed letters demanding briefings on the cases by April 27, major media report.
The Trump Administration indicated it was paying attention to the cases, according to multiple reports. Federal investigators have been looking into the cases, multiple reports state. Police have ruled out foul play in some of the cases.
NASA has said there is no indication of a security threat. The Department of War responded that there are no active national security investigations of any reported missing person. On April 29, 2026, the FBI conclusively determined Nuno Loureiro had been murdered by Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente acting alone and out of personal spite.
If there's any connections that lead to nefarious conduct or conspiracy, this FBI will make the appropriate arrest.
The conspiracy theory emerged in 2026 alleging deaths or disappearances of people tied to classified research were connected to secret knowledge about UFOs, advanced energy projects, or materials science, according to research. S. Air Force major general William Neil McCasland, research indicates.
The conspiracy theory alleges that ten or eleven unconnected persons were murdered due to their supposed knowledge of UFOs, energy projects, or materials science, research states. The Guardian characterizes the narrative as a conspiracy theory that spread from the internet to rightwing media and mainstream press. The Guardian reports that the conspiracy theory prompted an inquiry from Congress and questions from Donald Trump.
The Guardian suggests the answers lie not in the conspiracy theory itself but in what it represents in an era of AI slop and social media disinformation. McCasland's disappearance raised eyebrows within the UFO community, according to major media. Conspiracy theorists have suggested hundreds of deaths could be linked to exotic research, including staged suicides and plane crashes.
This is an example of apophenia.
Some politicians in Washington and former law enforcement chiefs believe there is something else going on beyond coincidence. The disappearances and deaths have prompted speculation about possible 'sinister' connections, according to multiple reports. , which promotes theories about aliens, Scientific American reports.
Colleagues, experts, and journalists have rejected claims of a coordinated pattern, according to research. Multiple family members have expressed anguish or grief at having their deceased relatives connected to the conspiracy theory, research indicates. Michael Hicks' daughter Julia Hicks said her father had struggled with 'known medical issues' and did not understand the connection between his death and the other missing scientists.
Julia Hicks said neither elected officials nor federal agencies had contacted her about her father's death as of Tuesday. org, Robert Bartholomew described the phenomenon as an example of apophenia. A similar pattern of deaths among Chinese scientists in sensitive fields has emerged, with at least nine cases including Feng Yanghe, Zhang Xiaoxin, and others, according to reports.
It appeared he was trying not to be found.
Feng Yanghe, a 38-year-old Chinese defense technology professor, died in a late-night car crash in Beijing in July 2023; his obituary said he was 'sacrificed while performing official duties,' according to official accounts. Zhang Xiaoxin, a space expert, died in a car accident in December 2024, major media report. Chen Shuming, a microelectronics specialist, died in a car accident in 2018, according to multiple reports.
Zhou Guangyuan, a chemist, died in December 2023 with no official cause disclosed, major media report. Yan Hong and Fang Daining, both hypersonics researchers, died after illness and an unexpected medical episode abroad, respectively, according to reports. Drone expert Zhang Daibing and data scientist Liu Donghao died under unclear circumstances, multiple reports indicate.
Chinese officials have given no indication of foul play in the deaths of Chinese scientists. UFO researcher Timothy Hood alleges a much older series of deaths among UFO researchers dating back to the late 1940s. In 1947, Captain William Davidson and Lieutenant Frank M Brown died in a B-25 crash while investigating a UFO sighting at Maury Island, according to Nigel Watson, author.
I hope it is random, but we will know in the next week and a half.
Harold A Dahl and his son Charles reported seeing six doughnut-shaped objects off Maury Island in 1947; debris killed their dog and burned the boy's arm. Dahl was confronted by a dark-suited man in a black sedan who warned him to keep silent. Kenneth Arnold asked Air Force Intelligence for help; Davidson and Brown were dispatched and died in a crash on return, according to multiple reports.
Monica Reza's research on a rocket alloy was financed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, formerly commanded by McCasland, according to major media. A grey US Air Force sweatshirt was found about a mile from McCasland's home ten days after his disappearance, multiple reports indicate. Amy Eskridge stated in 2020 she planned to present antigravity work but needed NASA approval.
Eskridge co-founded the Institute for Exotic Science to create a public-facing persona to disclose anti-gravity technology. The Institute for Exotic Science closed after Eskridge's death and its website is no longer accessible, according to multiple reports. Eskridge's father, Richard Eskridge, is a retired NASA engineer who specialized in plasma physics and fusion technology, major media report.
The events are allvarliga (serious) and some of the persons are very important.
Michael David Hicks worked on the DART Project and Deep Space 1 Mission at NASA JPL, according to multiple reports. Three scientists with ties to Hicks also worked at JPL: Monica Reza, Frank Maiwald, and Carl Grillmair. NASA and JPL have not commented on the deaths of Maiwald or Hicks, according to major media.
Monica Reza worked under McCasland at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, multiple reports state. Online obituaries for Hicks did not mention any health issues before his death, according to major media. Maiwald was a JPL Principal, an award for outstanding contributions, multiple reports indicate.
The first case on the list is a physicist at JPL who died at 59 on July 30, 2023, and worked on the DART project, according to major media. A 61-year-old space researcher at JPL died on July 4, 2024, with cause of death not made public, major media report. A woman in her 60s employed at JPL disappeared on June 22 while hiking in Angeles National Forest; she was last seen waving to a friend before vanishing, according to police.
Famed UFO researcher David Wilcock died by suicide on April 20, bringing the total number of mysterious cases to 12, according to the Office of the Boulder County Coroner. A former Los Alamos employee disappeared in May 2025 after leaving home on foot; police conducted extensive searches, according to local government in Los Alamos. A 53-year-old woman with an administrative role at Los Alamos disappeared on June 26, 2025, after forgetting her access card and working from home; she was last seen walking along a highway, The Hill reports.
A 48-year-old man working at Kansas City National Security Campus with top security clearance disappeared in August 2025 after leaving home, according to major media. The Daily Mail reached out to Eskridge's family and medical officials for comment. The Daily Mail reached out to NASA, Hicks' alma mater, and friends for comment.
The official causes of death for Michael Hicks and Frank Maiwald have not been publicly disclosed. No forensic or investigative evidence linking any of the cases beyond circumstantial connections has been confirmed. The specific information that led Congressman Comer to allege a grave threat to national security remains unclear.
No foreign actors or intelligence services have been credibly linked to any of the deaths or disappearances. The current status and location of the missing individuals who have not been found are unknown.