Dead and Missing Scientists List Reaches 10, Triggering Major New Investigation

The list of dead and missing scientists in the U.S. keeps growing, and now there is a major action to see if they are connected.

The public concern ignited with the disappearance of William McCasland, a retired Air Force General. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office in New Mexico released a detailed timeline about the mysterious disappearance of 68-year-old McCasland, who was “last known to have been at or near his residence in the area of Quail Run Court NE on the morning of Friday, February 27, 2026." McCasland's wife brought more attention to the case when she wrote on Facebook on March 6 that her husband had ties to the "UFO community." Since then, nine other scientists, who died or disappeared in the last few years, have been added to the list by various news outlets.

On April 16, Fox News reported that the White House is now investigating the cases. "McCasland’s disappearance is one of 10 recent cases involving scientists tied to U.S. military and government research that have drawn attention, including at the White House, where officials said they are looking into the matter after being asked about a potential pattern," Fox News wrote.

Some of the Deaths Have Natural Causes Listed, But the Missing Person Cases Are Especially Strange

Some of the deaths, in particular, appear to have natural causes. For example, some news outlets, like News Nation, include a NASA scientist named Michael David Hicks, who died in 2023, on the list, indicating that his cause of death was not publicly clear. However, Men’s Journal has learned that the Los Angeles County Coroner does list a cause of death for Hicks, saying he died of “arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease” in his residence with “morbid obesity” being described as a “significant condition.”

In her Facebook post, McCasland's wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, wrote: “Neil does not have any special knowledge about the ET bodies and debris from the Roswell crash stored at Wright-Patt. Though at this point with absolutely no sign of him, maybe the best hypothesis is that aliens beamed him up to the mothership. However, no sightings of a mothership hovering above the Sandia Mountains have been reported.”

Especially in the cases of some of the missing scientists, the cases are very unusual, and the disappearances remain unsolved.

• Monica Reza disappeared while hiking in June 2025. That month, the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Office posted an alert that reads: “Missing Hiker – Help Us Locate Monica Reza.” The flyer posted with the alert says that Reza was a resident of Los Angeles County who was last seen hiking on June 22, 2025, at 9:10 a.m. along Angeles Crest Highway. “There is concern for Ms. Reza’s well-being,” the flyer said, indicating that the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau was involved. “Fellow-Materials Science and Engineering at Aerojet Rocketdyne,” her LinkedIn page says.
• Melissa Casias disappeared in the summer of 2025. She worked at Los Alamos National Labs. In September 2025, the Taos News reported: “Two months after Melissa Casias, a 53-year-old Los Alamos National Labs employee, went missing, her disappearance has left more questions than answers. New Mexico State Police reported no breakthroughs in the investigation.”
• Anthony Chavez also worked at that lab before he went missing. In May 2025, the Los Alamos Police Department shared photos of Chavez and wrote, “MISSING PERSON: On 05/08/2025 Mr. Anthony Chavez of Los Alamos was reported as a missing person. Since then, exhaustive efforts to locate him have proved unsuccessful. Mr. Chavez is not believed to be endangered, but the public is asked to help locate Mr. Chavez to ensure his safety.”
• Steven Garcia disappeared in August 2025. According to Fox News, Garcia, 48, "was last seen leaving his home in Albuquerque around 9 a.m., captured on surveillance footage walking away on foot while carrying a handgun. He left behind his phone, wallet, keys and car, and has not been seen since." Fox News described him as "a government contractor tied to the Kansas City National Security Campus, a key facility responsible for producing the vast majority of non-nuclear components used in the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal."
• The other cases involve deceased scientists. There are suspects in some of those cases. They are: Nuno Loureiro, an MIT professor, was shot to death, authorities said by Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, the suspect in the Brown University mass shooting; Jason Thomas, a scientist at Novartis, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, who disappeared but whose body was later found in a lake, according to People; Frank Mailand, who worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab. Maiwald’s obituary says, “Frank Werner Maiwald, aged 61, passed away on July 4, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA"; Carl Grillmaier, an astrophysicist at Cal Tech, who was shot to death at his home. According to ABC 7, a suspect was charged with killing Grillmair “after carjacking his own relative and burglarizing a home.”

What's Known About Missing Retired General William McCasland?

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) wrote that the agency "continues the missing person investigation into the disappearance of 68-year-old William 'Neil' McCasland, last known to have been at or near his residence in the area of Quail Run Court NE on the morning of Friday, February 27, 2026. A Silver Alert remains in effect, and Mr. McCasland remains missing."

McCasland "is a retired U.S. Air Force general," the agency wrote, adding that the FBI was involved. "On February 27 at approximately 10:00 a.m., a repairman was at the residence and interacted with Mr. McCasland. At approximately 11:10 a.m., Mrs. McCasland Wilkerson left the home for a medical appointment," the Sheriff's Office wrote.

"At approximately 12:04 p.m., she returned home and Mr. McCasland was not there. His phone, prescription glasses, and wearable devices were located at the residence. Mrs. McCasland Wilkerson began attempting to locate Mr. McCasland and contacted family and friends. At approximately 3:07 p.m., she reported him missing and the investigation began immediately," added the agency.

"As the investigation has progressed, BCSO has identified items believed to be unaccounted for from the residence. Investigators believe Mr. McCasland may have been wearing the shirt shown in the attached photo. The photo depicts Mr. McCasland wearing a light green, long sleeve button-up outdoor shirt," the department added.

"Additional items believed to be missing include his hiking boots, wallet, and a .38 caliber revolver with a leather holster," the agency continued. "Investigators also located a gray U.S. Air Force sweatshirt approximately 1.25 miles east of the residence on Saturday, March 7. The item was collected and processed. No blood was detected during initial processing, and additional analysis is pending. The sweatshirt has not been confirmed by family or friends to be associated with Mr. McCasland; however, it prompted an additional targeted search effort in the area."

"BCSO continues to pursue all credible leads and follow up on every tip received. While there is currently no evidence indicating foul play, investigators are examining all available information as the case remains active."

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