High Security Research Projects. The FBI is investigating the deaths and disappearances of at least 10 scientists who had ties to sensitive government projects, following online speculation about potential connections among these cases.
This investigation includes coordination with various federal agencies to determine if there are any links between the incidents. NBC News Scientific American
THE ELEVEN
1. Michael David Hicks — Research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Worked on the DART asteroid mission. Died July 30, 2023.
2. Frank Maiwald — Principal researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Designed instruments to search for life on icy moons. Died July 4, 2024. Cause of death not publicly disclosed.
3. Amy Eskridge — Propulsion scientist in Alabama. Claimed before her death that she was being harassed for her work on exotic physics. Died June 11, 2022. Ruled a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
4. Anthony Chavez — Retired Los Alamos National Laboratory employee, age 78. Missing since May 2025. Wallet, keys, and car left behind. No signs of struggle.
5. Monica Reza — Aerospace engineer at NASA JPL. Co-developed a specialized metal alloy for rocket engines. Vanished while hiking in the Angeles National Forest, June 2025. A friend saw her smile and wave — then she was gone.
6. Melissa Casias — Administrative worker at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Missing since June 2025.
7. Steven Garcia — Government contractor at the Kansas City National Security Campus, which produces components for the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Disappeared August 28, 2025. Last seen on surveillance footage walking away from his home on foot, carrying a handgun, leaving behind his phone, wallet, keys, and car.
8. Nuno Loureiro — Director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, December 15, 2025. Died from his wounds.
9. William “Neil” McCasland — Retired U.S. Air Force Major General. Missing since February 27, 2026.
10. Carl Grillmair — Astrophysicist at Caltech. Discovered water on a distant exoplanet. Shot and killed on his porch in Llano, California, February 16, 2026. A suspect is in custody.
11. Jason Thomas — Pharmaceutical researcher at Novartis, working on cancer treatments. Missing since December 2025. Body found in a Massachusetts lake, March 17, 2026.
