Federal agencies have now launched a coordinated review into a series of deaths and disappearances involving scientists tied to sensitive nuclear and space programs.
As reported on Wednesday’s AM Update, the FBI, Department of Energy, and Department of Defense are jointly investigating a troubling set of cases involving at least 11 top scientists connected to nuclear research, national laboratories, or advanced space and propulsion work who have died or disappeared since 2022.
The Cases
Some authorities have cautioned the cases are not necessarily linked, pointing to a range of known circumstances including suicide or violent crime. As one former Energy Department official told CBS News, “people do just die. Strokes, heard disease, suicide, mugging, it happens.”
But several cases have drawn closer scrutiny due to overlapping details involving individuals tied to nuclear or advanced weapons research, many of them based in New Mexico, and, in multiple instances, last seen leaving their homes on foot with little more than a handgun.
In August 2025, 48-year-old Steven Garcia, a contractor working at a facility producing components for nuclear weapons, vanished after leaving his Albuquerque home on foot. Anthony Chavez and Melissa Casias, both connected to nuclear research facility Los Alamos National Laboratory, also disappeared last year under similar circumstances. Each was last seen walking away from their homes. Earlier this year, retired Air Force Major General William ‘Neil’ McCasland, a former head of the Air Force Research Laboratory, went missing after reportedly leaving his Albuquerque house with only a handgun.
These cases and more have garnered increasing public concern over the last several months. Last week, President Trump weighed in on the situation, suggesting he had been briefed on the matter.
“Well, I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half. I just left a meeting on that subject,” he told reporters. “So, pretty serious stuff. Hopefully, I don’t know, coincidence, whatever you want to call it, but some of them were very important people, and we’re going to look at it over the next.”
The FBI Investigation
FBI Director Kash Patel detailed the joint investigation during a Sunday appearance on Fox News. “The FBI is going to be spearheading the effort, collectively with our partners at the Department of Energy and the Department of War,” he said. “These missing and killed scientists and former professional members of the Department of Energy vary in wide range, and we’re working, most importantly, with our state and local partners who have the jurisdiction on each of these cases.”
“Whether they be a homicide or a missing persons case, they have the evidence. What we’re going to do is, collectively, pull it all into one place,” Patel added. “We’re going to look for connections, like you said, on whether there are connections to classified access, access to classified information, and/or foreign actors. And then we will produce that information to the White House and the world because it’s of such great public importance. And if there’s any connections that lead to nefarious conduct or conspiracy, this FBI will make the appropriate arrest.”
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration confirmed to CBS News it is aware of the reports and is reviewing cases involving personnel across its labs and facilities.
Congressional Oversight
In a parallel effort, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced Monday he is launching his own inquiry. He told Fox News there is a “high possibility that something sinister is taking place here,” and he is looking to gather intel from relevant agencies.
“What I found in three and a half years as chairman of the House Oversight Committee is sometimes government agencies don’t do a good job of sharing information on situations like this,” Comer said. “So, we’ve asked all those agencies – the Department of Energy, NASA, the Department of War – to all share information with us, so that we can see if we can put it together and find any missing links to try to solve what’s going on here because it’s very unlikely that this is a coincidence.”
For now, the mystery continues.
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