Federal officials are reviewing a list of missing or deceased scientists that includes several researchers with deep ties to California, including work at Caltech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, even as experts urge caution against reading too much into unrelated cases.
The renewed attention follows weeks of online speculation and tabloid coverage suggesting possible links between about 10 cases involving scientists or people connected to U.S. research institutions. Among them are a Caltech astrophysicist who was killed earlier this year and multiple scientists who spent years working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
The White House, several federal agencies and members of Congress say they are taking a closer look at whether any connections exist. So far, officials and independent experts say there is no evidence of a coordinated threat or a national security breach.
California institutions appear multiple times on the list
Several of the most widely cited cases involve scientists who worked in California:
California-based institutions like Caltech and JPL play a central role in U.S. space and astrophysics research, which has helped fuel online theories — even as officials stress that prominence alone does not imply classified access or foul play.
Experts warn against pattern-seeking
Scientists and researchers who study misinformation say the renewed focus reflects how quickly unrelated tragedies can be stitched together online, especially when high-profile institutions are involved, Sociologist Robert Bartholomew wrote in a skeptical report for Psychology Today
Bartholomew described the panic around the list as an example of humans searching for patterns where none may exist. The U.S. has tens of thousands of scientists working in aerospace, nuclear, and academic research, experts note, and deaths or disappearances — while tragic — occur for many unrelated reasons.
In several of the California-linked cases, law enforcement has either ruled out foul play or said there is no evidence connecting the incidents to the individuals’ research work.
White House, federal agencies probe cases of missing scientists
Reports from various outlets suggest that a “possible sinister connection” exists between the deaths and disappearances, wrote Congressmen James Comer and Eric Burlison, Republicans who chair the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs, respectively, in letters to the heads of the Department of Energy, Department of War, FBI and NASA.
“We request a briefing on any information regarding these deaths and disappearances, as well as the processes and procedures in place to protect American scientific secrets and ensure personnel safety,” they wrote in the letters.
NASA is coordinating with agencies looking into the cases, but “At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat,” spokesperson Bethany Stevens said on April 20.
The deaths and disappearances began, according to Burlison and Comer, with Michael David Hicks in 2023. Hicks’ cause of death was not revealed. The two most recent cases are from 2026.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on April 17 that the administration is working with “relevant” agencies and the FBI and said, “no stone will be unturned.” The attention to the cases from government officials comes after weeks of internet speculation and tabloid reports.
USA TODAY has reached out to the FBI and the Department of Energy, two of the agencies involved in the investigations.
Who are the people on the list?
The Republican members of Congress investigating listed some of the scientists by name, including McCasland, Hicks and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Monica Jacinto Reza. Others were referred to by their affiliations with other scientific agencies. About 10 names have been widely circulated in tabloids and other news reports.
A review of the cases reveals inconsistent ties to scientific research or varying topics of study.
These people related to the U.S. science community are currently missing:
These people with ties to science research have died in recent years:
List includes a range of circumstances, from homicide to unexplained disappearances
A review of publicly available information and information provided by law enforcement shows the circumstances surrounding the deaths and disappearances varied widely. Officials said foul play was not suspected in some of the cases. One death was linked to a mass shooter and widely covered in the news.
McCasland, the retired Air Force general, was last seen at his home in Albuquerque in February. Authorities issued a “Silver Alert,” an advisory used when a senior or someone with a health or cognitive condition goes missing, citing unspecified “medical issues.” He had previously experienced “mental fog,” authorities said, but investigators didn’t think he was cognitively impaired at the time of his disappearance. They said there was no evidence of foul play at the time, and items, including a revolver, appeared to be missing from the residence as well.
McCasland’s wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, said in a March social media post that she wanted to “dispel” misinformation. While it is true that her husband once had access to highly classified information, he had been retired for over a decade and had only “commonly held” clearances since.
“It seems quite unlikely that he was taken to extract very dated secrets from him,” she wrote.
In June 2025, authorities in New Mexico said they were searching for Casias, the administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She was last seen walking along a highway, and family members said they were perplexed about where she could have gone, NBC reported at the time.
Chavez, who worked as a construction foreman at the lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico, disappeared in May 2025.
“We do not have any information that would link his disappearance to his work,” Sgambellone, the local police chief, told USA TODAY.
Reza, the JPL engineer, disappeared in June 2025 while on a hike in Crescenta Valley, north of Los Angeles, authorities have said.
Jason Thomas, 45, was a Massachusetts scientist who worked in chemical biology at the Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research. Thomas went missing in December 2025, and his body was found in a lake on March 17, officials said. He disappeared from home shortly after losing both his parents, his wife told Wicked Local, part of the USA TODAY Network. The local district attorney’s office said no foul play was suspected.
In December 2025, Loureiro’s death became national news when authorities revealed he was allegedly shot by the same suspect who killed two people in a Dec. 13 attack at Brown University, Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves Valente. Investigators have said Valente, who later killed himself, did not reveal a motive for either shooting in videos he made afterward.
Grillmair, the CalTech astrophysicist, was shot to death on the porch of his rural home in February 2026, news outlets including ABC 7 reported. A suspect, Freddy Snyder, had been previously arrested for trespassing on Grillmair’s property, but the two didn’t appear to know each other, the outlet reported, citing authorities. Snyder was also charged with a separate carjacking.
The deaths of at least two people, JPL scientists Hicks and Maiwald, were not revealed in obituaries and could not be verified as of the time of publication. Hicks’ daughter, Julia Hicks, told CNN he had been struggling with known medical issues before his death on July 30, 2023.
“From what I know of my dad, there’s no train of logic to follow that would implicate him in this potential federal investigation,” Julia Hicks said. “I don’t understand the connection between my dad’s death and the other missing scientists.”
“I can’t help but laugh about it, but at the same time, it’s getting serious,” Julia Hicks told CNN, adding that she’s been “shaken up” by all the renewed attention on her father’s death.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Missing scientists list draws focus on California as feds review cases
Reporting by Jeanine Santucci and James Ward, USA TODAY NETWORK / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
