The Trump administration says the FBI and other agencies are reviewing a growing set of publicly discussed deaths and disappearances involving scientists and researchers for possible commonalities.
On X Friday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration is working with the FBI and other federal agencies to review the cases together and identify any potential commonalities. Officials still have not identified a single common link.
“In light of the recent and legitimate questions about these troubling cases, and President Trump’s commitment to the truth, the White House is actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to holistically review all of the cases together and identify any potential commonalities that may exist,” Leavitt wrote on X. “No stone will be unturned in this effort, and the White House will provide updates when we have them.”
In light of the recent and legitimate questions about these troubling cases, and President Trump’s commitment to the truth, the White House is actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to holistically review all of the cases together and identify any potential… pic.twitter.com/SJ9thaFegh
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) April 17, 2026
White House Review Begins
Leavitt’s statement followed questions raised earlier in the week after Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked whether the administration was investigating reports that scientists tied to sensitive U.S. research had gone missing or died. President Donald Trump later said he had “just left a meeting” on the issue and expected more clarity soon.
“I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half,” Trump said, according to Fox News.
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration is aware of reports related to employees of its labs, plants, and sites and is looking into the matter, Fox News reported. The FBI is aware and providing assistance as requested, while the Department of Energy is looking into the issue, CBS News reported.
What Public Reporting Says
The Public Count Reaches 11
Public reporting across multiple outlets has grouped together a set of deaths and disappearances involving scientists and researchers tied in varying ways to aerospace, nuclear, defense, or advanced research fields.
Recent Fox News coverage added Huntsville researcher Amy Eskridge as an 11th name in that public count. CBS News reported that speculation has swirled around the cases even as people close to the various investigations said they saw no links.
The Cases Most Often Grouped Together
The names most often grouped together in recent coverage include retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William “Neil” McCasland, aerospace engineer Monica Jacinto Reza, government contractor Steven Garcia, Los Alamos National Laboratory employee Melissa Casias, retired Los Alamos National Laboratory employee Anthony Chavez, NASA engineer Frank Maiwald, NASA researcher Michael David Hicks, MIT physicist Nuno Loureiro, Caltech astrophysicist Carl Grillmair, Huntsville researcher Amy Eskridge, and pharmaceutical scientist Jason Thomas.
The 11 Cases At A Glance
| Name | Status | Location / affiliation | Circumstances per public reporting |
|---|---|---|---|
| William “Neil” McCasland | Missing | Albuquerque area, New Mexico / retired Air Force major general, former Air Force Research Laboratory commander | Bernalillo County says McCasland was at or near his residence on Feb. 27, 2026. CBS and other outlets reported that he left behind his phone, prescription glasses, and wearable devices. |
| Monica Jacinto Reza | Missing | Los Angeles County, California / aerospace engineer tied to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Aerojet Rocketdyne | Public reporting says she disappeared while hiking in Los Angeles County on June 22, 2025. |
| Steven Garcia | Missing | Albuquerque, New Mexico / govt. contractor tied to the Kansas City National Security Campus |
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| Melissa Casias | Missing | Taos, New Mexico / Los Alamos National Laboratory employee | Public reporting says she disappeared June 26, 2025, and was last seen walking eastbound on New Mexico 518 near Talpa. Her family later found her car, purse, and phones at home. |
| Anthony Chavez | Missing | Los Alamos, New Mexico / retired Los Alamos National Laboratory employee | Public reporting says Chavez disappeared in May 2025 after last being seen leaving home on foot. Police are still seeking public assistance. |
| Frank Maiwald | Deceased (cause not publicly disclosed) | Los Angeles, California / NASA engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Public reporting says Maiwald died July 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. Recent public coverage has not identified a cause of death. |
| Michael David Hicks | Deceased (cause not publicly disclosed) | California / NASA researcher who worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Public reporting says Hicks died July 30, 2023, at age 59. Coverage describes him as a NASA/JPL scientist focused on comets and asteroids, including work tied to DART. |
| Nuno Loureiro | Deceased (shot; suspect identified) | Brookline, Massachusetts / MIT physicist | Public reporting says he was shot at his home in December 2025. Authorities later identified Claudio Manuel Neves Valente as the suspect. |
| Carl Grillmair | Deceased (shot; suspect charged) | Llano, California / Caltech astrophysicist | Public reporting says he was shot on the porch of his home in February 2026. Prosecutors charged Freddy Snyder with murder. |
| Amy Eskridge | Deceased (2022; public reporting describes death as suicide) | Huntsville, Alabama / Huntsville researcher, Institute for Exotic Science co-founder | Fox reported Eskridge was recently folded into the public count and said there is no publicly available evidence linking her death to the other cases. NewsNation later reported her father said there was “nothing suspicious” about her death. |
| Jason Thomas | Deceased (body found; no foul play suspected) | Wakefield, Massachusetts / pharmaceutical scientist at Novartis | Public reporting says Thomas disappeared in December 2025 and his body was recovered from Lake Quannapowitt in March 2026. Authorities said preliminary information pointed to no foul play. |
Most of the recent attention has centered on cases from 2024 forward, though recent coverage has folded in earlier deaths including Michael David Hicks in 2023 and Amy Eskridge in 2022.
Why These Cases Keep Drawing Attention
The overlaps are hard to ignore. Public reporting has tied several of the names to advanced aerospace, nuclear, or defense-related work, and multiple disappearances happened in New Mexico. Those similarities do not establish a single cause or coordinated pattern, but they clearly raised enough questions for the White House to order a broader review.
What We Know — And What We Do Not Know
The cases share enough surface similarities to raise serious questions, but they also vary sharply in official status and circumstance — from active missing-person investigations to killings with identified suspects to deaths with no broader public link established.
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), a member of the House Oversight Committee, has argued the similarities are too striking to ignore. Burlison said the string of deaths and disappearances is “too coincidental” not to warrant serious scrutiny, even as officials have not publicly identified a confirmed link between the cases.
That variation is exactly why the White House review is notable. Washington is now treating the questions seriously even though the public narrative is still ahead of the confirmed facts. Officials still have not identified a single common link.
People close to the investigations see no obvious link, and outside experts interviewed by CBS News also did not identify a clear common thread.
Several of the cases already point in different directions. CBS News reported that investigators had uncovered no evidence of foul play so far in McCasland’s disappearance.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, authorities identified Claudio Manuel Neves Valente as the suspect in MIT physicist Nuno Loureiro’s killing. Investigators later found him dead in New Hampshire. California authorities have charged Freddy Snyder in Grillmair’s killing.
In Massachusetts, Wakefield officials said preliminary information pointed to no foul play after authorities recovered Jason Thomas’ body from Lake Quannapowitt in March. Those differences help explain why officials have not publicly identified a single common link.
Investigators may uncover unusual facts in individual cases, but not one overarching connection tying them all together, former senior National Nuclear Security Administration official Frank Rose said, the New York Post reported.
Eskridge Family Pushes Back On Suspicious-Death Narrative
Her father, Richard Eskridge, pushed back directly on the suspicious-death narrative. He told NewsNation there was “nothing suspicious” about her 2022 death, adding, “Scientists die also, just like other people.”
What Happens Next
Trump said he expects more clarity within about a week and a half, and Leavitt said the White House will provide updates as the review continues. For now, the biggest confirmed development is the review itself. The administration is taking the public questions seriously.