White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration could look into a series of unexplained deaths and disappearances involving American specialists connected to sensitive research, an issue that has drawn growing attention and speculation.
Her comments represent one of the first indications that the matter may be formally examined, shifting it from online discussion to a topic acknowledged at the White House briefing podium.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment on Thursday.
Authorities have not identified any confirmed link tying the cases together, though several lawmakers have urged a deeper review of the incidents. Any federal investigation could help clarify questions that have circulated for weeks.
During Wednesday’s briefing, a reporter asked Leavitt: “There are now 10 American scientists who have either gone missing or died since mid-2024. They all reportedly had access to classified nuclear or aerospace material. Is anybody investigating this to see if these things are connected?”
Leavitt replied: “I haven’t spoken to our relevant agencies about it. I will certainly do that, and we’ll get you an answer. If true, of course, that’s definitely something I think this government and administration would deem worth looking into. So let me do that for you.”
One of the most prominent cases involves retired Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland, who disappeared on February 27 near Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Authorities said McCasland left behind his phone, prescription glasses, and wearable devices at his home. A gray U.S. Air Force sweatshirt was later recovered roughly 1.25 miles east of where he lived.
In a separate case, aerospace engineer Monica Reza vanished in June while hiking in California’s Angeles National Forest. Reports indicate she had previously participated in a government-funded rocket materials program overseen by McCasland.
These cases are part of a broader group that has fueled online claims of a possible pattern, including two scientists who were killed in attacks at their residences. However, officials have not established any verified connection among the incidents.
The circumstances have prompted a range of theories, including speculation involving unidentified aerial phenomena as well as espionage.
Chris Swecker, a former FBI assistant director, dismissed the idea of extraterrestrial involvement. “I think there’s a rational explanation for this,” he said, per NewsNation.
“If it’s not just random acts, it’s modern-day espionage,” he added. According to the outlet, Swecker suggested federal authorities may already be examining the cases, even though no public confirmation has been issued.
“These are classified matters,” Swecker said. “We shouldn’t be hearing about them if they are investigating.”
According to the International Business Times, the following individuals connected to advanced scientific or government-related work have either gone missing or died since 2023:
Steven Garcia, a government contractor at the Kansas City National Security Campus in Albuquerque, has been missing since August 28, 2025.
William “Neil” McCasland, a retired U.S. Air Force major general, has been missing since February 27, 2026.
Anthony Chavez, a former Los Alamos National Laboratory employee, has been missing since May 8, 2025.
Melissa Casias, an administrative worker at Los Alamos National Laboratory, has been missing since June 26, 2025.
Monica Reza, Director of Materials Processing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has been missing since June 22, 2025.
Nuno Loureiro, director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, died on December 16, 2025, after being shot the previous day.
Carl Grillmair, a Caltech astrophysicist involved in NASA’s NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor missions, died on February 16, 2026.
Michael David Hicks, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who worked on the DART Project and Deep Space 1 mission, died on July 30, 2023.
Frank Maiwald, a principal researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, died on July 4, 2024.
Jason Thomas, a Novartis pharmaceutical researcher focused on cancer treatments, died on March 17, 2026.
Officials previously told Newsweek they were aware of speculation surrounding McCasland’s disappearance but said there is no verified evidence linking his case to any other investigation.
It is unclear whether federal authorities will formally announce a broader probe into whether these deaths and disappearances are connected.
{Matzav.com}
Ask Hillary, she knows how to make someone disappear.
Wow you really downplayed the UFO connection on this one
At the risk of sounding really odd, it all probably has to do with sheidim.
Around 13 years, an atheist UFO researcher (can’t remember his name) came to the conclusion that dangerous paranormal events happen around UFO research. He gave several examples of UFO researchers who died in all sorts of mysterious ways, as indicated above.
He said parents shouldn’t let their children read non-fiction books about aliens, etc.
Many people, both Jews and non, have said that “alien” activity unexplained by technology is probably shin-dalet.
This atheist researcher himself experienced weird events. He said as long as one researches from a purely scientific, technological way, then things are fine. (This alludes to advanced technology not yet revealed by one’s military or government.)
But the moment one delves deeper, bad things start to happen.
He has a lot of evidence on tape, along with physiological symptoms of the victims, but has not released it due to fear and seeing that the more people get involved with Ufology, the more likely bizarre and unpleasant things happen.
I agree with you.
What does UFO have to do with sheidim? And yes, the deaths of the scientists are tied to UFO and nuclear weapons. Now there’s an 11th scientists dead. The question is who’s behind it?
In addition to what Edison replied below, the entities perceived as aliens do all sorts of weird things, things that are more in the category of paranormal, rather than in the category of another biological species.
The actual UFOs in the sky are generally some kind of advanced technology not yet publicized by the military.
But alien encounters often resemble shin-dalet encounters described in Torah sefarim, like Minchat Yehudah by Rav Yehudah Petiyah, Kav HaYashar, the Gemara, Me’am Lo’ez, etc.
I’m not saying your theory is wrong.
But the Ufologist mentioned in my previous comment encountered disturbing paranormal activity, both himself and in the people he interviewed, plus he mentioned Ufologists (not necessarily government scientists) dying in odd ways that either look like an accident that doesn’t make sense or inexplicably – and this is apparently a known thing in the Ufology community.
UFOs do inexplicable things– change their shapes, appear to some but not to others, get into humans’ heads in weird ways , and other documented happenings.