Concerns Raised Over Missing Scientists and Military Personnel
Recent months have seen an increase in the number of U.S. scientists and military personnel reported missing, starting with the disappearance of Frank Maiwald, a researcher from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, on July 4, 2024.
In light of several other notable disappearances—including that of a senior aerospace engineer and a retired Air Force General—Representative Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) is calling for a federal investigation. He expressed worries about the “deeply concerning” connections these individuals have to advanced research and has sought the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) assistance to explore whether these cases are interconnected or pose a threat to national security.
“The disappearance of multiple scientists and military personnel with ties to advanced research is deeply concerning. I’ve already requested FBI involvement, and we will keep pressing for answers,” Burlison stated on social media.
Most recently, William Neil McCasland, a retired Air Force general, went missing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on February 27. He had previously held a significant leadership position in the U.S. Air Force and was responsible for overseeing technology and space research.
Interestingly, McCasland’s wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, mentioned in a Facebook post on March 12 that she doubted her husband’s disappearance was linked to any classified information he might have had access to.
“It is true that when Neil was in the Air Force, he had access to some highly classified programs and information. He retired almost 13 years ago and has only held basic clearances since then. It seems unlikely that he would have been targeted for old secrets,” she wrote.
This case has spurred interest in the disappearance of Monica Reza, who vanished not long before while hiking. Reza had also worked on a government-funded rocket materials project that McCasland oversaw.
“It’s remarkable that General McCasland apparently walked out of his home, left all of his devices, and never came back,” Burlison commented. “And Monica Reza, she was on a hike as well and mysteriously disappeared. And I’ve heard of others.”
Authorities are cautious regarding McCasland’s case; Lieutenant Kyle Woods from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office noted, “We haven’t ruled anything out, but we have nothing pointing to that either.”
Congressman Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), involved with the House Oversight Committee looking into UFO reports, expressed his skepticism about the situation. He suggested that the number of unusual deaths within these research fields seems too high to be mere coincidence.
“There have been several others throughout the country that have disappeared under suspicious circumstances. I think we ought to be paying attention to it,” Burchett stated.
Timeline of Disappearances and Deaths (2025–2026)
- July 4, 2024: Frank Maiwald, a prominent NASA JPL researcher, died in Los Angeles at age 61. No cause of death was disclosed, nor was there an autopsy performed.
- May 4, 2025: Anthony Chavez, a former Los Alamos National Laboratory worker, disappeared without any trace.
- June 22, 2025: Monica Reza, a NASA scientist, vanished while hiking in Angeles National Forest, reportedly just thirty feet from her companions.
- June 26, 2025: Melissa Casias, a Los Alamos administrative assistant, disappeared from her home; her phones were later found factory-reset.
- December 12, 2025: Jason Thomas, a Novartis researcher, went missing, with his body recovered from a lake three months later on March 17, 2026.
- December 15, 2025: Nuno Loureiro, director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, was killed at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
- February 16, 2026: Carl Grillmair, an astrophysicist, was shot fatally on his front porch early in the morning.
- February 27, 2026: Maj. Gen. Neil McCasland exited his home in New Mexico without his phone or glasses and has not been seen since.
