Congress Opens Federal Investigation Into 10 Deaths and Disappearances of Scientists Linked to U.S. Nuclear and Space Secrets

The House Oversight Committee has formally demanded briefings from the FBI, NASA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense after at least ten people connected to classified American research died or vanished between 2023 and 2026 — with no confirmed link between the cases.

The United States Congress has launched a formal investigation into a series of deaths and disappearances involving scientists and officials with ties to sensitive American nuclear and aerospace programmes. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Subcommittee Chairman Eric Burlison sent letters on 20 April 2026 to the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the FBI, and NASA, requesting briefings on individuals connected to U.S. nuclear secrets or rocket technology who have died or mysteriously vanished in recent years.

Each department has been given until 27 April 2026 to provide a staff-level briefing to the committee. 

The Cases What Is Confirmed

The string of cases spans NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MIT, Caltech, and the Kansas City National Security Campus. Here is what authorities have confirmed about each:

The series began with Michael David Hicks, 59, a research scientist who spent 24 years at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, specialising in comets and asteroids. He died on 30 July 2023. His cause of death was not disclosed. TMZ His daughter Julia Hicks told CNN her father had been struggling with known medical issues and said she does not understand the connection between her father's death and the other cases.

Frank Maiwald, a JPL space research specialist, died in Los Angeles in 2024 at age 61.

Monica Jacinto Reza, 60, director of JPL's Materials Processing Group, vanished on 22 June 2025 while hiking along Angeles Crest Highway in Los Angeles County. She had patented a nickel super-alloy used in both space travel and weaponry, and her research contributed to reusable rocket programmes including New Glenn and Starship. Despite a search of the Angeles National Forest, no trace of Reza has been found, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department remains the lead agency on her missing persons case. 

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Melissa Casias, 53, an administrative employee with a security clearance at Los Alamos National Laboratory, was last seen on 26 June 2025 walking alone on a highway near Talpa, New Mexico, leaving her belongings at home and a phone that had been factory-reset. Anthony Chavez, a retired Los Alamos worker, also disappeared in May 2025. Steven Garcia, 48, a property custodian for the National Nuclear Security Administration's Kansas City National Security Campus in Albuquerque, disappeared last August. 

MIT Professor Nuno Loureiro, director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, was shot and killed at his Boston-area home in December 2025 by a former engineering classmate who also carried out a mass shooting at Brown University the following day, killing two students and wounding nine others. 

Carl Grillmair, a 67-year-old Caltech astrophysicist known for discovering water on a distant exoplanet, was shot dead on the front porch of his home in Llano, California on 16 February 2026. Authorities arrested 29-year-old Freddy Snyder in connection with the shooting — Snyder had previously been arrested for trespassing on Grillmair's property while armed with a rifle. A specific motive has not been released. 

Retired Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland, 68, has been missing since 27 February 2026, when he left his Albuquerque home taking only his hiking boots, wallet, and a .38-calibre revolver. His phone, prescription glasses, and wearable devices were found at home. A grey U.S. Air Force sweatshirt was later found 1.25 miles from his residence. The FBI is assisting local law enforcement. Bernalillo County officials have stated that investigators have so far uncovered no evidence of foul play. 

The One Confirmed Professional Link

Amid widespread online speculation, investigators and officials have been cautious. However, the committee letters note one confirmed professional connection: Monica Reza and retired General McCasland worked together on an Air Force-funded research programme in the early 2000s pertaining to advanced materials needed for reusable space vehicles and weapons — a connection Comer and Burlison say has not been explained.

What the White House and FBI Have Said

Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed the Department of Energy has a formal probe underway as part of a coordinated investigation across government agencies. Asked if the inquiry had turned up anything, Wright said: "Too early to say about that. We haven't found anything alarming yet." 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration is actively working with the FBI and the Department of Energy to identify any potential commonalities between the cases. President Trump said: "I hope it's random, but we're going to know in the next week and a half."

Authorities have not confirmed any official link between the cases. The investigations are ongoing.