Eleven US Scientists and Defense Researchers Dead or Missing — Congress Declares “National Security Threat,” FBI Confirms Active Investigation

[ UPDATE — April 20, 2026 ] The count has risen to eleven cases. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer formally designated the pattern a "national security threat." FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed an active investigation. The House Oversight Committee sent formal letters to four federal agencies. See full update below.

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[ UPDATE — April 12, 2026 ] Tenth case added: Steven Garcia, KCNSC Albuquerque nuclear weapons contractor, vanished August 28, 2025.

[ UPDATE — April 10, 2026 ] Ninth case added: Michael David Hicks, NASA JPL, died July 2023.

ORIGINAL REPORT (March 31, 2026): Eight scientists and defense researchers with access to classified US programs had died or disappeared since July 2024.

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APRIL 20, 2026 UPDATE — ELEVENTH CASE, CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION, FBI CONFIRMED:

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) declared on April 20, 2026 that the pattern of deaths and disappearances constitutes a "national security threat" and that Congress is making it a priority. "It does appear that there's a high possibility that something sinister is taking place here," Comer told Fox News. "It's very unlikely that this is a coincidence. Congress is very concerned about this. Our committee is making this one of our priorities now because we view this as a national security threat."

The House Oversight Committee sent formal letters on April 16, 2026 to four federal agencies — the FBI (Director Kash Patel), NASA (Administrator Jared Isaacman), the Department of Energy (Secretary Chris Wright), and the Department of Defense (Secretary Pete Hegseth) — demanding briefings on everything those agencies know about the cases. "If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets," the committee wrote. The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration separately confirmed it is investigating the deaths and disappearances.

FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the agency has opened an active investigation: "We started this process last week, and then we're going to look for connections, 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." The Department of Defense told committee staff on April 16 that it has "no active national security investigations" involving any current or former personnel tied to the reported cases — a response Comer described as inadequate.

Missouri Congressman Eric Burlison, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs and has been working the case alongside Comer, stated the pattern has "all the hallmarks of a foreign operation." President Trump called the growing list "pretty serious stuff" on Thursday, April 17, adding that he hoped the cases were "a coincidence."

The eleventh case involves Amy Eskridge, a Huntsville, Alabama-based researcher who died in 2022. Her case resurfaced as the eleventh entry after Fox News reported on the broader pattern. Before her death, Eskridge reportedly stated: "I have to publish because it's only going to get worse until I publish," and described the situation as "getting more and more aggressive." She had been involved in research on unconventional technologies. Her death was not initially connected to the broader pattern; official findings have not established foul play. Her case has drawn renewed attention from online and alternative technology research communities.

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FULL ROSTER — ELEVEN CASES AS OF APRIL 20, 2026:

1. Amy Eskridge — Huntsville, Alabama researcher, died 2022. Circumstances resurfaced as 11th case. Involved in unconventional technology research. No official findings of foul play.

2. Michael David Hicks — NASA JPL research scientist, died July 30, 2023, age 59. No cause of death disclosed. No autopsy. DART Project, Deep Space 1, Near Earth Asteroid Tracking.

3. Frank Maiwald — NASA JPL scientist, died July 2024, age 61. No public cause of death, no autopsy. Longtime Hicks colleague at JPL.

4. Monica Jacinto Reza — 60-year-old aerospace engineer, former Technical Fellow at Aerojet Rocketdyne, co-inventor of "Mondaloy" nickel superalloy for next-generation rocket engines. Vanished June 22, 2025, Angeles National Forest. Never found.

5. Anthony Chavez — former Los Alamos National Laboratory worker, disappeared May 4, 2025. Left on foot, no phone, wallet, or keys.

6. Melissa Casias — Los Alamos National Laboratory employee with top security clearance. Disappeared June 26, 2025. Both phones found wiped after factory reset.

7. Steven Garcia — government contractor, Kansas City National Security Campus Albuquerque facility. Disappeared August 28, 2025. Left on foot with only a handgun. Top security clearance, oversight of nuclear weapons component assets.

8. Nuno Loureiro — MIT plasma physicist, director of Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Shot dead in Brookline, Massachusetts home December 15, 2025.

9. William Neil McCasland — retired Air Force Major General, 68, commanded Air Force Research Laboratory, oversaw $2.2B in classified programs. Disappeared from Albuquerque home February 27, 2026. Left behind phone, glasses, medications, wearable devices. FBI search ongoing.

10. Carl Grillmair — Caltech astrophysicist, JPL-supported. NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor infrared telescope work applicable to hypersonic missile tracking. Shot dead on front porch of Llano, California home February 16, 2026. Shooter unknown to victim. Motive undisclosed.

11. Jason Thomas — pharmaceutical researcher at Novartis. Found dead in Massachusetts lake March 17, 2026 after disappearing three months earlier.

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Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker: "Our scientists have been targeted for a long time, especially in the rocket propulsion area, by hostile foreign intelligence services. I think we've even seen instances where nuclear scientists have been taken out. They've been assassinated." Congressman Burlison: "All the hallmarks of a foreign operation." Chairman Comer: "A national security threat."