Trump says he met on lacking scientists tied to US protection analysis

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Susan Wilkerson was gone for simply a couple of hour when her husband, retired Air Pressure Maj. Gen. William "Neil" McCasland — who as soon as oversaw a few of the army’s most advanced and highly classified research programs — reportedly vanished from their Albuquerque house.

McCasland, 68, left his phone behind , however his pockets and a .38-caliber revolver have been lacking, in accordance with the Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Sheriff’s Workplace.

The final beforehand had stated he was experiencing what he described as a "psychological fog," in accordance with investigators, however authorities harassed there was no indication he was disoriented on the time of his disappearance.

"Arguably, he would nonetheless be probably the most clever particular person within the room," Albuquerque police Lt. Kyle Wooden stated March 16.

McCasland’s disappearance is one in all 10 current circumstances involving scientists tied to U.S. army and authorities analysis which have drawn consideration, together with on the White Home, the place White Home officers stated they're trying into the matter after being requested a couple of potential sample.

"I hope it is random, however we'll know within the subsequent week and a half," Trump instructed reporters Thursday. "I simply left a gathering on that topic."

Right here’s what we all know concerning the scientists who've disappeared or died underneath a spread of circumstances over the previous three years.

Neil McCasland: Disappeared Feb. 27, 2026 Ret. Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, was reported lacking in New Mexico in February. (Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Workplace)

McCasland disappeared Feb. 27 and police have discovered no hint of him since. His cellphone, prescription glasses and wearable gadgets have been discovered at house, however his mountain climbing boots, pockets and a .38‑caliber revolver have been reported missing, in accordance with the Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Sheriff’s Workplace.

McCasland held senior roles in house analysis and acquisition, together with management positions on the Air Pressure Analysis Laboratory and the Nationwide Reconnaissance Workplace, in accordance with the Air Pressure. He held senior roles on the Pentagon and commanded the Phillips Analysis Web site of Air Pressure Analysis Laboratory at Kirtland Air Pressure Base in New Mexico, and the Air Pressure Analysis Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Pressure Base in Ohio, in accordance with the Air Pressure.

McCasland’s title additionally surfaced in an sudden place years earlier — the 2016 WikiLeaks launch of emails from Hillary Clinton marketing campaign chairman John Podesta. In these messages, musician and UFO fanatic Tom DeLonge described working with McCasland on discussions associated to unidentified aerial phenomena, noting that the overall had beforehand led the Air Pressure Analysis Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Pressure Base — a facility lengthy tied in UFO lore to the alleged 1947 Roswell crash.

"Neil doesn't have any particular data concerning the ET our bodies and particles from the Roswell crash saved at Wright-Patt," his spouse, Susan, wrote on Fb shortly after his February disappearance.

The 1947 Roswell incident concerned particles later recognized by the U.S. authorities as a part of a categorised army balloon program, although it has lengthy been the topic of UFO and extraterrestrial conspiracy theories.

Susan Wilkerson additionally famous that her husband retired in 2013.

"It appears fairly unlikely that he was taken to extract very dated secrets and techniques from him," she stated on Fb.

An undated photograph of lacking retired Air Pressure Gen. William "Neil" McCasland in mountain climbing gear. The 68-year-old was final seen close to his Albuquerque, New Mexico, house on Feb. 26. (Susan McCasland Wilkerson/Fb)

Monica Jacinto Reza: Disappeared June 22, 2025 Reza, 60, was mountain climbing with a pal within the Angeles Nationwide Forest close to Los Angeles on a well-traveled path round 9 a.m. on the morning of her disappearance, in accordance with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division.

The pal was about 30 toes forward, and instructed police he circled to examine on her and he or she smiled and waved, indicating she was doing wonderful. The pal turned again to proceed mountain climbing, and when he seemed again once more moments later, she was gone, in accordance with, in accordance with case particulars launched throughout the search.

He instantly alerted authorities who despatched out a search social gathering. Since then, there have been no sightings or any hint of Reza or her belongings.

Reza, an aerospace engineer, was the co-creator of Mondaloy, a nickel-based alloy able to withstanding the intense warmth of rocket engines. On the time of her disappearance, she was the Director of Supplies Processing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

The doorway to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California is seen on February 7, 2024. (Robyn Beck/AFP)

Reza’s work in superior rocket supplies was funded partly by the Air Pressure Analysis Laboratory — the identical group McCasland later led — putting the 2 in overlapping corners of the U.S. protection analysis ecosystem, although no direct relationship between them has been publicly confirmed.

Steven Garcia: Disappeared Aug. 28, 2025 Garcia, 48, was final seen leaving his house in Albuquerque round 9 a.m., captured on surveillance footage strolling away on foot whereas carrying a handgun. He left behind his cellphone, pockets, keys and automobile, and has not been seen since, in accordance with Albuquerque police.

Garcia was a authorities contractor tied to the Kansas Metropolis Nationwide Safety Campus, a key facility answerable for producing the overwhelming majority of non-nuclear parts used within the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. His position reportedly gave him high-level safety clearance and oversight of delicate property.

Authorities initially warned Garcia "could also be a hazard to himself," elevating considerations about his psychological state. However an nameless supply accustomed to the case pushed again on that evaluation to the Day by day Mail, describing him as "a really steady particular person" and disputing solutions that he was suicidal or experiencing psychological well being points.

Each Garcia and McCasland lived in the identical area of New Mexico, a hub for U.S. nuclear and protection analysis, although authorities haven't confirmed any connection between the circumstances.

Carl Grillmair: Killed Feb. 16, 2026 Grillmair, 67, a California Institute of Expertise astrophysicist identified for his work on exoplanets and the invention of water on distant worlds, was shot and killed outdoors his house in Llano, California, early within the morning. Deputies responding to a name discovered him on his entrance porch with a gunshot wound; he was pronounced useless on the scene.

Authorities later arrested a 29-year-old suspect in reference to the killing, charging him with homicide in addition to carjacking and housebreaking in separate incidents. Investigators stated the suspect had beforehand been reported for trespassing on Grillmair’s property within the weeks main as much as the taking pictures.

Grillmair had spent a long time engaged on main NASA-backed missions, together with the Hubble and Spitzer house telescopes, contributing to analysis on galactic construction, darkish matter and the seek for liveable planets.

Nuno Loureiro: Killed Dec. 15, 2025 Loureiro, 47, a famend MIT physicist and director of the college’s Plasma Science and Fusion Heart, was shot at his house in Brookline, Massachusetts, and died from his accidents the next day.

His killing got here inside months of each the disappearance of McCasland and the deadly taking pictures of Grillmair, including to rising consideration round a collection of circumstances involving scientists tied to protection and aerospace analysis.

Loureiro was a number one determine in fusion power analysis, learning plasma physics and dealing on applied sciences geared toward harnessing near-limitless clear power.

Authorities later linked his killing to a suspect linked to a separate mass taking pictures at Brown College days earlier. Investigators stated the suspect, who had beforehand attended college with Loureiro in Portugal, died by suicide after the assaults, successfully closing the case.

Regardless of early hypothesis on-line, officers haven't indicated Loureiro’s dying was linked to his analysis or to any broader sample.

Frank Maiwald: Died July 4, 2024 Maiwald, 61, a longtime engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, died in Los Angeles on Independence Day.

The one broadly out there public report of Maiwald’s dying is a short on-line obituary. No reason for dying has been publicly disclosed, and reporting signifies no post-mortem was carried out.

Maiwald spent a long time at JPL creating superior devices used to check Earth and distant planetary environments, together with instruments able to detecting chemical signatures similar to water and natural molecules.

His work centered on constructing devices able to detecting chemical signatures together with water, natural molecules and different indicators scientists use to evaluate whether or not environments past Earth may assist life.

Melissa Casias: Disappeared June 26, 2025 Casias, 53, was final seen on June 26, 2025, in Taos County, New Mexico, strolling alone alongside State Street 518 close to the group of Talpa.

Earlier that day, Casias, an administrative worker with safety clearance at Los Alamos Nationwide Laboratory, had left work and frolicked in Taos. At one level, her niece instructed native media, she picked up a Subway sandwich and dropped it off for her daughter, who was working at a espresso store within the Taos Plaza space.

When members of the family returned house, they discovered her automobile, purse, keys and each her private and work-issued telephones inside. The telephones had been manufacturing facility reset, wiping current knowledge and communications.

Members of the family have strongly pushed again on the concept that she left voluntarily. "All of her associates preserve telling us this isn't like her… she wouldn’t depart her daughter," her sister, Trudy Najera, stated. The household added that Casias had been getting ready to care for his or her mom throughout an upcoming surgical procedure.

Regardless of a number of searches, no confirmed hint of Casias has been discovered since that afternoon.

An indication greets guests as they arrive on the Los Alamos Nationwide Laboratory campus June 14, 1999 in Los Alamos, New Mexico. (Joe Raedle/Newsmakers)

Anthony Chavez: Reported lacking Might 8, 2025 Chavez, 78, a retired Los Alamos Nationwide Laboratory worker, is believed to have final been seen round Might 4, 2025, at his house in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He was reported lacking 4 days later, Might 8.

When authorities and members of the family searched his house, they discovered his pockets, keys and different private gadgets left behind inside, whereas his automobile remained locked within the driveway. There have been no indicators of compelled entry or a battle, in accordance with the Los Alamos Reporter.

Investigators reviewed hours of surveillance footage from close by properties and companies however haven't publicly recognized any confirmed footage exhibiting Chavez after he left his residence.

Chavez had labored for many years at Los Alamos Nationwide Laboratory earlier than retiring in 2017, putting him throughout the identical northern New Mexico protection hall as others who later vanished.

Jason Thomas: Lacking Dec. 13, 2025, discovered deceased March 17, 2026 Thomas, 45, an affiliate director of chemical biology at pharmaceutical firm Novartis, was reported lacking in December 2025 after leaving his house in Wakefield, Massachusetts, late at night time. Surveillance footage captured him strolling close to practice tracks shortly after midnight, and he left behind his cellphone and pockets.

Thomas labored in chemical biology, a area on the intersection of chemistry and biology that makes use of small molecules to check and manipulate organic methods — work that performs a central position in trendy drug discovery and the event of recent remedies.

At Novartis, he centered on figuring out and testing compounds that might goal disease-related proteins, a part of a broader effort to develop new medicines for complicated circumstances.

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Within the months after his disappearance, authorities performed in depth searches however discovered no hint of him. On March 17, 2026, a physique believed to be Thomas was recovered from Lake Quannapowitt after the ice thawed. Officers stated no foul play was suspected, although the trigger and method of dying haven't been publicly disclosed.

The overlap in timing and occupation has fueled questions on whether or not one thing extra is at play. However investigators haven't recognized any proof of a broader sample, and the circumstances themselves, starting from confirmed homicides to disappearances and pure deaths, level in numerous instructions.