These Are the Last Known Locations of the 11 Missing U.S. Scientists

As federal investigators scramble to find a connection between 11 missing or deceased scientists, a new map of their "last known locations" is providing a chilling visual of where America’s top scientific minds are vanishing.

The map, which tracks cases dating back to 2022, shows a clear concentration of incidents around the nation’s most sensitive military and aerospace facilities. While the FBI and White House have yet to confirm a link, the geographic overlap is now a central part of the Congressional probe into a potential "grave threat" to national security.

The New Mexico 'Nuclear' Corridor

New Mexico remains the most alarming hotspot on the map. Four individuals — all with ties to nuclear or rocket technology — were last seen within a narrow corridor of the state:

• Retired Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland: Last seen on Feb. 27, 2026, near his home in Albuquerque before a planned hike.
• Melissa Casias (Los Alamos): Last seen walking along State Road 518 in Talpa in June 2025.
• Anthony Chavez (Los Alamos): Reported missing in May 2025.
• Steven Garcia (Government Contractor): Last seen walking away from his Albuquerque home in August 2025, carrying a handgun but leaving behind his phone and wallet.

???? Last known locations of 11 dead or missing scientists and military officials connected to U.S. nuclear and aerospace programs. pic.twitter.com/JzeGPce5vT

— kekius tees (@kekiusteeshirt) April 21, 2026

The California 'Aerospace' Cluster

The West Coast hub is centered almost entirely around NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Caltech. The map highlights four critical cases in Los Angeles County alone:

• Monica Reza: The materials engineer disappeared on June 22, 2025, while hiking near Mount Waterman.
• Carl Grillmair: The renowned Caltech astrophysicist was shot and killed on his porch in Llano on Feb. 16, 2026.
• Frank Maiwald (JPL): Passed away under undisclosed circumstances in Los Angeles on July 4, 2024.
• Michael David Hicks (JPL): Found deceased in his Sunland residence in July 2023.

The Tech Trail: Massachusetts and Alabama

The map extends to the East Coast and the South, marking locations where researchers in nuclear science and pharmaceutical engineering were last seen:

• Nuno Loureiro: The MIT nuclear professor was fatally shot outside his home in Massachusetts in late 2025.
• Jason Thomas: The Novartis researcher was last seen in Wakefield, MA, in December 2025; his body was found in a lake months later.
• Amy Eskridge: A scientist who died in Alabama in 2022, whose case has recently been re-examined by researchers tracking the pattern.

What the Map Reveals

Federal officials, including Rep. Eric Burlison, have noted that these locations aren't random. They are the doorsteps of the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Kansas City National Security Campus, and NASA's most critical deep-space outposts.

The fact that several of these individuals disappeared while off the grid — hiking without phones or tracking devices — has fueled speculation that they may have been targeted at their most vulnerable moments. As the FBI "spearheads the effort" to look for connections, this map remains the most vital tool for understanding a mystery that now reaches the highest levels of the U.S. government.