10 US Scientists Dead or Missing

 

Maj Gen (ret.) William Neil McCasland has been missing for several weeks 

(Image: Susan McCasland Wilkerson)

Nuno Loureiro (age 47) was the Director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center. On December 15, 2025, he was fatally shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. His death and the deaths and disappearances of at least 9 other US nuclear or high-tech scientists raise national security concerns.

Missing are retired Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland (age 68), a former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Anthony Chavez (age 79), a retired lab worker at the Air Force Research Lab, and Monica Reza, the Director of Materials Processing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Also missing are Steven Garcia (Kansas City National Security Campus) and Melissa Casias (Los Alamos National Laboratory).

At the Air Force Research Laboratory, McCasland led billions of dollars in advanced materials sciences and future weapons research across one of the largest scientific centers in the Department of Defense.

Authorities previously told Newsweek they were aware of the speculation surrounding McCasland's case but had no verified information establishing any connection between his disappearance and any other missing person investigation.

Michael David Hicks, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, died on July 30, 2023.

Frank Maiwald, a principal researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory died on July 4, 2024. 

Carl Grillmair, a Caltech astrophysicist who worked on NASA’s NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor missions died February 16, 2026.

Read more here: White House Investigating Wave of Missing or Dead Scientists - Newsweek; Missing Air Force General Case Draws FBI and Online Conspiracy Theories | Military.com