Feds Probe 'Troubling' Deaths, Disappearances Of SoCal Scientists

LOS ANGELES, CA — Various federal investigations were underway Tuesday into a series of recent disappearances or deaths of U.S. scientists across the country, including at least four tied to the Los Angeles area, to determine if there is any connection among the cases or possible national security threats.

President Donald Trump said last week he had received a briefing about the issue, and that an investigation would be conducted. The next day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated plans for such a probe.

"In light of the recent and legitimate questions about these troubling cases, and President Trump's commitment to the truth, the White House is actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to holistically review all of the cases together and identify any potential commonalities that may exist," Leavitt wrote on X. "No stone will be unturned in this effort, and the White House will provide updates when we have them."

Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee on Monday requested information from the FBI and other federal agencies "about the scientists and other personnel connected to U.S. nuclear secrets or rocket technology who have died or mysteriously vanished in recent years."

Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Regulatory Affairs subcommittee chairman Eric Burlison, R-Missouri, issued a joint statement Monday saying the committee "is investigating recent unconfirmed public reporting on the disappearance and death of individuals with access to sensitive U.S. scientific information."

"These reports allege that at least 10 individuals who 'had a connection to U.S. nuclear secrets or rocket technology,' have 'died or mysteriously vanished in recent years,"' the lawmakers said. "If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets. 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."

According to the lawmakers, the string of questionable cases began with the 2023 death of Michael David Hicks, a former scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. No cause of death for the 59-year-old Hicks was ever released.

In 2024, space scientist and JPL researcher Frank Maiwald died in Los Angeles at age 61. No cause of death was released.

In June of 2025, another JPL worker — 60-year-old Monica Reza — disappeared while hiking in the Angeles National Forest. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said at the time she was last seen hiking on Angeles Crest Highway. She has never been found.

In February of this year, renowned Caltech astrophysicist Carl Johann Grillmair, 67, was fatally shot on the front porch of his home in a remote part of the unincorporated community of Llano. A suspect was arrested and charged with murder in that case, although a possible motive for the crime has not been released. Grillmair was a noted astronomer hailed for discovering water on a distant planet. His work included research using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

• Read more: Acclaimed Caltech Scientist Carl Grillmair Found Shot To Death

A spokeswoman for NASA said Monday the agency "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."

At least six other scientists have disappeared or died in recent years, including a pair of workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, a nuclear research facility in New Mexico.

The various cases led to online conspiracy theories about whether the disappearances and deaths were connected, or part of a national security threat.

That speculation heightened in February with the disappearance of U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Neil McCasland in New Mexico. He previously led a research laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, a focal point of many UFO government conspiracy theorists.

City News Service