The Trump administration has launched an investigation into the disappearances and deaths of 11 American scientists, the vast majority of whom were associated with federal nuclear or space research programs. Three of the scientists had direct ties to NASA, and the agency has finally broken its silence on the matter.
“NASA is coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies in relation to the missing scientists,” agency Press Secretary Bethany Stevens said Monday. “At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat. The agency is committed to transparency and will provide more information as able.”
NASA is coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies in relation to the missing scientists. At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat. The agency is committed to transparency and will provide more information as able. https://t.co/92dTXGAxQn
— Bethany Stevens (@NASASpox) April 20, 2026
Authorities have maintained that there is no confirmed connection between the 11 scientists, but the fact that they were all involved in highly valued, strategically sensitive fields has drawn concern from federal officials. Those fields include nuclear weapons security and defense systems, NASA space missions and asteroid tracking, fusion energy and plasma physics, advanced aerospace and military technologies, and biomedical research.
“We’re very concerned about this. This is a national security concern. This would suggest that something sinister may be happening,” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) said during a Sunday appearance on Fox News’s Fox & Friends.
One missing, two dead NASA scientists
Three of the 11 scientists at the center of this investigation were employees at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Monica Jacinto Reza, a 60-year-old aerospace engineer who worked on rocket engines, disappeared on June 22, 2025, while hiking in Los Angeles County.
Frank Maiwald, a senior radio frequency engineer who worked at JPL for more than 25 years, died on July 4, 2024, at the age of 61. And Michael David Hicks, a JPL research scientist who studied the physical properties of comets and asteroids and worked on planetary defense projects, died on July 30, 2023, at the age of 59.
Again, there is no confirmed connection between these two deaths and Reza’s disappearance aside from their employment at NASA JPL, which could be coincidental.
Swirling speculation
Tabloids and social media have been abuzz with speculation about the circumstances of these 11 deaths and disappearances.
Some have suggested that Reza’s disappearance may be connected to that of William McCasland, a retired U.S. Air Force general who was reported missing on February 27, 2026. Various reports have alleged that Reza and McCasland had a professional relationship, but Gizmodo was unable to verify that claim.
Conspiracy theories surrounding McCasland’s disappearance have centered on his former role as commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson, an air base surrounded by UFO theories.
There is no evidence to suggest that Maiwald and Hicks died under suspicious circumstances, though their causes of death have not been made public.
Considering that two of the 11 missing or dead scientists—Nuno Lureiro of MIT and Carl Grillmar of Caltech—were shot and killed in targeted attacks, it’s understandable that some would be quick to jump to conclusions about the others. But at this point, there simply isn’t enough evidence pointing to a shared motive or pattern behind the remaining cases.
As NASA works with the agencies leading this investigation, we could get more clarity on the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Mailwald and Hicks, and the disappearance of Reza, but that remains to be seen.
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