There is growing speculation that these individuals may have been specifically targeted due to their specialized knowledge, or possibly forced to vanish for their own safety. This unsettling trend, involving at least 11 scientists who have either died or disappeared since 2022, predominantly affects those researching nuclear science and space, with ties to UFO studies.

The list of victims includes Michael David Hicks, 59; Frank Maiwald, 61; Nuno Loureiro, 47; Jason Thomas, 45; Amy Eskridge, 34; and Carl Grillmair, 47. Each of these scientists, whose deaths occurred between 2023 and 2026, was integral to critical scientific advancements.

While the causes of death for Hicks and Maiwald remain undisclosed, Carl Grillmair was tragically shot outside his home on February 16, 2026. Freddy Snyder, 29, has since been charged with Grillmair’s murder.

Carl Grillmair, 47, was a respected research scientist at Caltech’s Infrared Processing and Analysis Center before being fatally shot in a crime authorities have classified as homicide. This incident further underscores the urgency of understanding the motives behind these alarming events.

Carl Grillmair, 47, a research scientist at Caltech’s Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, was fatally shot outside his home Feb. 16, 2026, in what authorities have ruled a homicide.  (Caltech)

Frank Maiwald, 61, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, died July 4, 2024, authorities said. The cause of death has not been released. (Obituary)

Jason Thomas, 45, an associate director of chemical biology at pharmaceutical company Novartis, was reported missing in December 2025 after leaving his home in Wakefield, Massachusetts, late at night.  (Wakefield Police Department)

Loureiro was also shot at his Massachusetts home, and died from his injuries one day later on Dec. 15, 2025. His death was linked to a separate mass shooting at Brown University. 

The body of Thomas, an associate director of chemical biology at pharmaceutical company Novartis, was discovered in Lake Quannapowitt, Massachusetts three months after he was last seen walking from his home late at night.  

Eskridge, a Huntsville, Alabama–based researcher, died June 11, 2022, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

McCasland previously commanded Kirtland Air Force Base’s Phillips Research Site and Air Force Research Laboratory. (Kirtland Air Force Base )

Monica Reza, 60; Melissa Casias, 53; Anthony Chavez, 79; Steven Garcia, 48; and retired Air Force General William Neil McCasland, 68, were all reported missing throughout 2023 to 2026, with each of their disappearances occurring under suspicious circumstances.

Michael David Hicks, 59, a scientist who worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1998 to 2022, died July 30, 2023, authorities said.  (Fox News)

Monica Reza, 60, an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was reported missing June 22, 2025, after disappearing while hiking in the Mount Waterman area of the Angeles National Forest in California.  (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)

Steven Garcia, 48, who worked at the Kansas City National Security Campus, was reported missing Aug. 28, 2025, after leaving his Albuquerque home on foot carrying only a handgun.  (New Mexico Department of Public Safety)

Some scientists vanished from their homes, with others disappearing on hiking trails and other public areas. 

While the individuals do not appear to be connected through their work and research, one expert is pointing to the possibility that something more sinister could be at play.

Anthony Chavez, 79, was reported missing May 8, 2025, after he was last seen leaving his home on foot in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Chavez, a retired employee of Los Alamos National Laboratory, left behind his car, phone, wallet and keys, and his whereabouts remain unknown.  (The Los Alamos Police Department)

Melissa Casias, 53, an administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, was reported missing June 26, 2025, and her whereabouts remain unknown.  (GoFundMe)

“The disappearances of some of these people may be because there are some confidential investigations going on at a very significant level federally, where there are certain people that may be either taken because they know too much or have made themselves disappear because they would be assets that could be interrogated or even charged with various crimes,” Dr. Steven Greer, a ufologist and a retired physician, told Fox News Digital.

Greer also points to one possibility being that the scientists have been targeted by a transnational criminal organization looking to keep their research out of the public eye.

“In certain significant quarters federally, it has been concluded that the programs – some euphemistically call them legacy programs – have been attached to UFO, UAP research and development, and have been involved as a criminal organization,” Greer said. 

In response to the renewed public attention, President Donald Trump has vowed to investigate the mysterious disappearances and deaths of the various scientists.

“I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “I just left a meeting on that subject.”

Additionally, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) previously told Fox News Digital it is looking into the cases.

“NNSA is aware of reports related to employees of our labs, plants, and sites and is looking into the matter.”

In light of the closely-timed incidents, Greer believes the federal government needs to step in to provide more protections for whistleblowers as they work to find the cause of the various mysterious deaths and disappearances.

“This is something very serious,” Greer told Fox News Digital. “Even though it sounds like a James Bond movie, it’s no joke. We have very heroic and patriotic people who have been trying to come forward, but the United States government, in my opinion, has failed them by not providing adequate protections.”