Several people from science have disappeared or died under mysterious circumstances in the USA. The White House is now investigating the cases.
04/17/2026, 09:0604/17/2026, 09:06
Thomas Wanhoff / t-online
In the USA, ten scientists have disappeared or died in recent years, and this is now also a concern for the White House. US President Donald Trump commented on the mysterious events.
“Some of them were very important people, and we’ll be dealing with them in the next few days,” Trump told reporters on Thursday. He spoke of a “very serious matter”. He hopes that the cases are not related and are just a coincidence.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had previously announced that the Trump administration would review and investigate the cases.
An ex-general and two Los Alamos employees
One of the missing is former Air Force General William “Neil” McCasland, who was in charge of Air Force research programs. He left his house in February 2026 and never came back. His glasses and phone were found in his home. Monica Jacinto Reza, an aerospace engineer, was hiking with a friend near Los Angeles in June 2025. When he turned around at one point, she suddenly disappeared. There is no trace of her, reports Fox News.
Neil McCasland has been missing since February.Image: US Air Force
And another case poses a mystery: A civilian employee at a facility that produces non-nuclear components for the American nuclear weapons program left his home in Albuquerque in August 2025. Camera footage showed Steven Garcia had a gun in his hand. He left his phone and wallet at home, US media reported. He hasn’t been seen since. He lived in the same region as former General William McCasland, who is also said to have had a weapon with him.
Melissa Casias, who worked at the Los Alamos laboratory where the first atomic bomb was built, has been missing since June 2025. Anthony Chavez, who used to work at Los Alamos, has also been missing since May 2025. His wallet was also found at home, according to Fox News.
Two researchers shot dead
Astrophysicist Carl Grillmair was shot dead early in the morning in February 2026 in front of his home in Llano, California. Police arrested a suspect on murder charges as well as car theft and burglary in other cases, reports Fox News.
MIT physicist Nuno Loureiro was also shot at home and later died in the hospital. There was apparently a connection to an incident in which a man shot several people at Brown University in the US state of Rhode Island. He probably knew the physicist. NASA engineer Frank Maiwald, who died in Los Angeles at the age of 61 in 2024, and chemist Jason Thomas, who was found dead in March 2026 after his disappearance in 2025, are also among the cases that are now being investigated, according to Fox News.
Nuno Loureiro died after being shot at home.Image: Boston Globe
American authorities have not yet confirmed any links between the cases.
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