Who Are the 11 US Scientists Missing or Dead Under ‘Unexplained Circumstances’?

The US is looking into a string of "mysterious cases" involving the disappearance or death of several high-profile American scientists and researchers. The investigation reportedly centers on a group of at least 11 individuals linked to sensitive aerospace, nuclear and advanced propulsion programmes. The latest name to resurface in the context of these broader inquiries is Amy Eskridge, a Huntsville-based UFO researcher whose 2022 death has become a focal point for those questioning the safety of scientists in "exotic" fields.

The investigation covers a range of incidents spanning from late 2023 to early 2026. While each case has its own local police record, federal authorities are reportedly looking for commonalities among the victims, many of whom were associated with elite institutions such as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Los Alamos National Laboratory, and MIT. Amy Eskridge ‘Suicide’: UFO Scientist’s Death Part of Federal Probe Into 11 ‘Mysterious Cases’.

The following 11 individuals have been identified in these ongoing investigations:

Missing US Scientists

• William Neil McCasland: A retired Air Force General and former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory. He disappeared from his New Mexico home on February 27, 2026, leaving behind his personal belongings but reportedly taking a firearm.
• Monica Jacinto Reza: A senior aerospace engineer and former Technical Fellow at Aerojet Rocketdyne. She vanished on June 22, 2025, while hiking the Mount Waterman Trail in California.
• Steven Garcia: A government contractor involved in the production of non-nuclear components for nuclear weapons. He disappeared in August 2025 after leaving his New Mexico residence on foot.
• Anthony Chavez: A former employee of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He went missing on May 8, 2025, leaving his car, wallet, and keys at his home.
• Melissa Casias: An administrative secretary at Los Alamos National Laboratory with high-level security clearance. She went missing on June 26, 2025, after returning home to work remotely.

Deceased US Scientists (Under Investigation/Unclear Circumstances)

• Nuno Loureiro: A prominent MIT nuclear physicist and director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center. He was shot to death in his home in December 2025.
• Carl Grillmair: A Caltech astrophysicist and NASA-affiliated researcher specializing in asteroid tracking and galactic structures. He was fatally shot on his front porch on February 16, 2026.
• Frank Maiwald: A principal researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). He died on July 4, 2024; investigators have noted a lack of a public autopsy or clear cause of death.
• Michael David Hicks: A NASA JPL scientist involved in the DART asteroid deflection project. He died in July 2023; while some reports suggest natural causes, others have flagged his inclusion in investigations of "missing/dead scientists."
• Jason Thomas: An assistant director of chemical biology at Novartis. He went missing in December 2025, and his body was recovered from a lake in Massachusetts in March 2026.

The Case of Amy Eskridge

While Amy Eskridge passed away in June 2022, her case has been categorized by investigators and advocates as the "latest" to be re-evaluated under this new lens of potential "mysterious circumstances."

Eskridge was the co-founder and President of the Institute for Exotic Science in Huntsville, Alabama. Known for her work in anti-gravity technology and photonic propulsion, Eskridge’s research often challenged conventional scientific wisdom. At the time of her death at age 34, the official cause was not widely publicized, but recent discussions in the scientific community have suggested her work may have made her a target for corporate or national security interests. Are Aliens Real? US Congressman Tim Burchett Claims Government Confirmed Extraterrestrial Contact (Video).

The clustering of these cases around high-security institutions has prompted concerns regarding internal security lapses or potential espionage. The White House and federal law enforcement have been cautious in their public statements, acknowledging the "troubling pattern" without definitively linking the cases to a single source of foul play. The central question remains whether these incidents are a tragic series of coincidences or a coordinated effort to suppress or seize advanced technological breakthroughs.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 17, 2026 03:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).