House Oversight committee investigates missing or deceased nuclear and rocket scientists: ‘Serious concern’

House Oversight Committee Investigates Disappearances of Scientists

WASHINGTON – The House Oversight Committee has initiated an investigation into the reported disappearances and deaths of at least ten scientists and researchers linked to U.S. nuclear and rocket technology, as revealed in a letter obtained by the Post.

Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Rep. Eric Burleson (R-Mo.) expressed concern in their letters, stating that “if reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances could pose a serious threat to U.S. national security and personnel who have access to scientific secrets.”

The committee has sent requests for information to the FBI, Department of Energy, NASA, and the Department of the Army regarding missing U.S. employees, including Michael David Hicks, who had a tenure at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1998 to 2022.

Hicks passed away in 2023, but details regarding the autopsy and the cause of his death remain undisclosed.

Additionally, Monica Reza, who serves as the director of the Materials Processing Group at NASA Research Institute, went missing while hiking in June 2023. Retired Air Force Gen. William Neil McCasland also vanished from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in February, without any personal belongings, including prescription glasses or a cell phone.

The two individuals shared a “close professional connection” in the early 2000s while collaborating on an Air Force research initiative focused on materials for reusable spacecraft and weapons.

Among the others who have gone missing or have died, two were from NASA JPL, while two more were associated with Los Alamos National Laboratory. One was an MIT scientist engaged in nuclear fusion research. There were also pharmaceutical researchers and government contractors involved in nuclear weapon components.

Melissa Casias, an administrative assistant at Los Alamos, has recently been reported missing as well.

The White House is also conducting its own interagency investigation. Following a briefing, President Trump commented that the preliminary information was “pretty serious.”

Comer and Burleson, who are responsible for the Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs, have requested a staff-level briefing by April 27.

A spokesperson for the National Nuclear Security Administration stated that the agency is aware of reports concerning employees at laboratories and is looking into suspicious deaths, suicides, and disappearances of former staff members.

Frank Rose, a former NNSA official, suggested that while establishing a direct connection might be challenging, numerous peculiar incidents have occurred in the past at these scientific facilities. “If we explore each case, it’s likely we will uncover something more,” he noted. “This information will be reported to the relevant authorities, and there won’t be an attempt to cover it up.”

Rose emphasized that the NNSA and the National Security Laboratory complex represent significant targets for foreign intelligence, though he saw no evidence connecting the deceased to such entities.