FBI urged to hunt for ‘sinister’ fact behind 11 vanished nuclear boffins
US lawmakers are demanding the FBI probe the ‘sinister’ disappearance of 11 nuclear scientists with ties to NASA and secret weapons labs amid national security fears
US Air Force General William McCasland has been missing since February 27(Image: wikipedia)
US lawmakers are demanding an investigation into the chilling disappearance of nearly a dozen top-tier nuclear scientists after raising fears of a “grave threat” to national security. A total of 11 experts with high-level security clearances, including links to NASA, nuclear weapons labs and secret aerospace projects, have either vanished into thin air or turned up dead under unusual circumstances.
The disturbing pattern has sparked worries that America’s most sensitive scientific secrets could be at risk, with top Republicans now ordering the FBI, Pentagon and NASA to seek the truth. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has officially waded into the crisis.
Republican Chairman James Comer warned that the string of cases, which started in 2023, might be more than just a series of tragic accidents.
In letters sent on Monday, Comer wrote: “The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating recent unconfirmed public reporting on the disappearance and death of individuals with access to sensitive U.S. scientific information.
“These reports allege that at least ten individuals who ‘had a connection to U.S. nuclear secrets or rocket technology,’ have ‘died or mysteriously vanished in recent years.’
“If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets.”
Comer has specifically highlighted a “possible sinister connection” between the cases. President Donald Trump confirmed he was briefed on the crisis last week, suggesting that the public could have answers within days.
Speaking on Thursday, Trump said: “Well, I hope it is random, but we are going to know in the next week and a half. I just left a meeting on that subject, so pretty serious stuff. Hopefully, coincidence… but some of them were very important people, and we are going to look at it.”
Despite the White House’s concern, the Department of War has reportedly said “there are no active national security investigations” into the missing persons – a claim that hasn’t sat well with Congress.
The mystery deepened following the disappearance of retired Air Force General William Neil McCasland on February 28.
The former chief left his New Mexico home without his phone, glasses, or wearable tech, carrying only a pistol. His wife told 911 he seemed to be trying “not to be found.”
McCasland’s case mirrors four other disappearances in the Southwest between May and August 2025. All four were linked to McCasland’s work at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) – a site long-rumoured to be the home of UFO research since the 1947 Roswell crash.
Those missing include Steven Garcia, 48, a contractor for the facility that makes 80 per cent of non-nuclear components for the US nuclear arsenal. He also vanished on foot with only a handgun.
Monica Jacinto Reza, 60, a NASA director working on “space-age metal”, also vanished while hiking in California last June.
Others include Anthony Chavez and Melissa Casias, both linked to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the birthplace of the atomic bomb.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the FBI is now “holistically” reviewing the cases to find the common thread. Lawmakers have demanded a full briefing on the mystery by April 27.
