Mysterious deaths and disappearances raise 'national alarm' after 11 nuclear scientists either die or vanish

At least 11 scientists with ties to nuclear research, NASA, aerospace programs and classified government projects have reportedly vanished or died in mysterious circumstances.

Lawmakers are now demanding that the FBI, Pentagon, NASA and the Department of Energy open probes into the concerning trend.

Most of the individuals held top security clearance, with access to classified information on space missions, nuclear technology and defence projects.

"The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating recent unconfirmed public reporting on the disappearance and death of individuals with access to sensitive US scientific information," Republican chairman James Comer wrote in letters sent on Monday.

"These reports allege that at least ten individuals who 'had a connection to US nuclear secrets or rocket technology,' have 'died or mysteriously vanished in recent years.'

"If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to US national security and to US personnel with access to scientific secrets."

Mr Comer noted the "possible sinister connection between a string of mysterious deaths and disappearances which began in 2023."

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President Donald Trump was briefed on the disappearances last week.

"Well, I hope it is random, but we are going to know in the next week and a half," Trump said when asked about the missing scientists on Thursday.

"I just left a meeting on that subject, so pretty serious stuff. Hopefully, coincidence... but some of them were very important people, and we are going to look at it."

It was announced last week that Trump's administration and the FBI are looking into the missing scientists.

"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," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Mr Comer, alongside Republican Congressman Eric Burlison, called on the agencies to brief Congress on the matter by April 27.

When the lawmakers contacted the Department of War with questions, it responded that "there are no active national security investigations of any reported missing person".

The disappearances started when retired Air Force General William Neil McCasland went missing on February 28.

He was seen leaving his New Mexico home without a phone two months ago.

His wife told 911 dispatchers McCasland looked like he was trying to "not to be found".

A disturbing pattern emerges as his disappearance was near identical to four other missing person cases in the Southwest between May and August last year.

All four missing peoples have been tied to McCasland though his work overseeing the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The base has been legend since the 1947 Roswell UFO crash as it's rumoured to study extraterrestrial technology.

Like McCasland, Steven Garcia, 48, vanished from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on foot, without everyday essentials like a phone, instead just bringing a handgun.

Scientist Monica Jacinto Reza, 60, was one of McCasland's subordinates at the base. She had just become the director of the Materials Processing Group at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

She disappeared while hiking with friends in California on June 22 last year.

Anthony Chavez, 79, was an active administrative assistant at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) - one of the nation's most important nuclear research sites - and disappeared last year.

Within weeks, Melissa Casias, 54, who was an active administrative assistant at the same facility with top security clearance, also went missing.