Ten U.S. researchers and scientists have reportedly died or disappeared over the past 33 months amid increasing speculation about the cause of some of the disappearances.
Steven Garcia, a 48-year-old government contractor who allegedly had top-level clearance at a key nuclear facility disappeared in August 2025 after reportedly leaving behind his phone, wallet and keys, taking a gun and leaving his home in New Mexico on foot, NewsNation reported Thursday. Moreover, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland similarly went missing on Feb. 27 after leaving his home in Albuquerque on foot, the outlet reported.
Eight other well-known scientists and researchers in the U.S. have reportedly died or gone missing over the past few years, raising questions about whether some of these cases might involve suspicious circumstances. However, U.S. officials have not identified any definitive connection between the cases, according to an April 9 Newsweek report.
Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC), who Garcia served as a contractor for, produces 80% of the non-nuclear material part of the U.S.’ nuclear weapons, The Daily Mail reported, citing an anonymous source.
“Over the past year, 10 different US specialists, ranging from scientists working on aerospace, nuclear and UAP research have all gone missing. Most of the cases have been labelled as old person wandering off, or disappearing when hiking,” professor and independent journalist Adam Cochran wrote in a Tuesday X post responding to the Daily Mail’s story. “But it’s way too many to be a coincidence especially when many of them worked together, and all happened to work on top US secrets…”
During a Wednesday press briefing, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about whether the U.S. government is planning to investigate the spate of reported disappearances and deaths.
“There are now 10 American scientists who have either gone missing or died since mid-2024,” the reporter said. “They all reportedly had access to classified nuclear or aerospace material. Is anybody investigating this to see if these things are connected?”
“I will certainly do that, and we’ll get you an answer,” she stated. “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.”
On Thursday, President Donald Trump told reporters that he had held a meeting to discuss the reports of missing scientists, The Hill reported.
“I just left a meeting on that subject,” Trump told reporters, adding that the situation is “pretty serious stuff.”
When reached for comment, the White House referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to Trump’s comments from Thursday.
Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett told The Daily Mail in an interview published on March 22 that he thinks there is potentially a connection between other individuals throughout the U.S. having gone missing under similar “suspicious circumstances.”
“There have been several others throughout the country that have disappeared under suspicious circumstances,” the Tennessee Republican told the outlet, adding “I think we ought to be paying attention to it.”
Republican Missouri Rep. Eric Burlison wrote in a March 29 X post that the reports of the missing scientists is part of a larger “transparency problem” in the U.S. government.
“Missing scientists. Classified programs. Advanced tech,” Burlison wrote in the social media post. “This isn’t speculation, it’s a transparency problem. Congress is pushing for answers.”
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