In 2026, a conspiracy theory appeared that alleges that the deaths or disappearances of several people, some described online as scientists tied to classified or sensitive research, are connected to secret knowledge about UFOs, advanced energy projects, materials science, or related subjects. The cases cited by proponents span several years and involve unrelated circumstances, including natural death, homicide, suicide, and missing-person reports. It emerged around the 2026 disappearance of former U.S. Air Force major general William Neil McCasland and spread through social media and online speculation before drawing wider media attention and comment from federal officials, including the FBI and President Donald Trump.

Journalists and colleagues of those named have rejected claims of a coordinated pattern; medical sociologist Robert Bartholomew described the belief as an example of apophenia, or the tendency to perceive meaningful links in unrelated events; experts have observed the improbability of the theory. Multiple family members of those connected to the conspiracy theory have expressed anguish or grief at having their deceased relatives connected to what they have characterized as absurdity.

Origins and propagation

"Missing scientists" is a conspiracy theory[1][2] that originated and grew in popularity in early 2026.[2] It alleges that ten or eleven unconnected persons who had either died of natural causes, been victims of homicide or suicide, or been reported missing, some of whom were characterized as "scientists" working on classified programs, had been murdered due to their supposed knowledge of UFOs, energy projects, materials science or similarly sensitive fields.[2][1] The murderers have been suggested to be enemies of the US.[3] The deaths and disappearances spanned a period of four years, though in some cases were erroneously reported to have been clustered over a period of a few months.[1] Many were first reported on individually, sometimes from a conspiratorial angle.[4]

Inception

The origin of the conspiracy theory has been dated to the early 2026 disappearance of William Neil McCasland.[5] McCasland, a 68-year-old former U.S. Air Force major general and seventh Commander of Air Force Research Laboratory was reported missing by his wife on February 27, 2026.[6] He had been briefly involved with To The Stars Inc. which, according to Scientific American, is "a celebrity-led organization that promotes theories about aliens".[7][5] According to CNN, he "played a central role in the US military’s real investigations into mysterious objects in the sky — from Cold War-era research programs to efforts to study UAPs."[8] In regards to speculation his disappearance was related to secret knowledge he possessed about UFOs, McCasland's wife stated that he "had only very commonly held [security] clearances" since his retirement more than a decade before, and suffered from a chronic health issue at the time of his disappearance.[7][6] According to the sheriff of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, where McCasland resided, there was "no evidence indicating foul play" in his disappearance.[6]

Spread

Writing on social media, Michael Shermer, the editor-in-chief of Skeptic, explained that conspiracy theorists began "digging around to find anyone who died for any reason, or has disappeared, then scrapping [sic] through their bio to see if they have any connection whatsoever to UFOs, military, defense, space, aerospace, propulsion etc.", inevitably discovering "patterns in random noise".[9] That explanation was echoed by writer Benjamin Radford who characterized the conspiracy theory as "mystery-mongering data mining".[2]

Attention on the matter was accelerated by United States Representative Eric Burlison, a first-term congressman from Missouri who, according to the Kansas City Star, "built a reputation" through his "focus on aliens ... [and] what used to be called UFOs".[10] By March 2026, the unrelated deaths and the conspiracy theory that connected them had gained wider public attention due to reporting by News Nation, the New York Post, the Daily Mail, and Tim Pool's podcast.[4][3] A Fox News reporter asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about it during a briefing on April 15.[11]

According to The Atlantic, names added to the list included an advanced-materials researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) who had disappeared while hiking, a Los Alamos National Laboratory administrative assistant who went missing, and a person who claimed that her father, a former NASA propulsion engineer, had discovered the secret of anti-gravity.[1] Joseph Uscinski, political scientist, said that "Your average conspiracy theory, someone comes up with it and it dies on the vine, ... What makes this unique is you have government agents, with guns, investigating this."[4]

Identified missing persons

The following people are commonly cited as involved in the scenario.[12][1] In addition to the names listed, U.S. representative Tim Burchett stated he did not think the death of David Wilcock — a New Age conspiracy theorist[13] who committed suicide in the presence of law enforcement officers on April 20, 2026 after a long battle with depression and extreme financial difficulty[14] — is "a coincidence".[15]

Persons commonly cited as missing or deceased
Person Age Biography Status Date Resolution References
Amy Eskridge 34 Anti-gravity enthusiast[a] Deceased 2022-06-11 Eskridge's death was investigated by Birmingham, Alabama police and ruled a suicide. A postmortem statement released by family noted she had suffered ongoing pain and that they did not find her death unusual. [23][1]
Michel David Hicks 59 Former planetary scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Deceased 2023-07-30 Hicks' official cause of death was not released at the wishes of the family; a daughter stated he suffered from an unspecified chronic medical condition at the time of his passing. [23][24]
Frank Maiwald 61 Surface Water and Ocean Topography and imaging spectroscopy engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Deceased 2024-07-04 [25]
Anthony Chavez 78 Retired construction foreman who once worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory Disappeared 2025-05-08 Missing [12]
Monica Jacinto Reza 60 Metallurgist and materials engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Disappeared 2025-06-22 Jacinto was lost while hiking in the Angeles National Forest. [12][25]
Melissa Casias 53 Administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory Disappeared 2025-06-26 Relatives report she was experiencing a "huge amount of stress" related to financial issues and said she probably decided to run away. Asked if she left of "her own volition", a spokesman for the New Mexico State Police stated "it appears this may be the case". [26][27][28]
Steven Garcia 47 Contract property custodian at the Kansas City National Security Campus Disappeared 2025-08-28 Missing [29][30]
Jason Thomas 45 Assistant director of chemical biology at Novartis Deceased 2025-12-12 Thomas drowned at Lake Quannapowitt. The Middlesex County, Massachusetts medical examiner stated no foul play was involved, and Thomas' wife noted he was depressed at the time of his death. [12][31][32]
Nuno Loureiro 47 Plasma physicist; professor and leader of MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center Deceased 2025-12-16 Loureiro was a victim of the 2025 Brown University shooting perpetrated by Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente. [33][12]
Carl Grillmair 67 Retired Caltech astronomer and astrophysicist of exoplanets, galactic structure, and dark matter Deceased 2026-02-16 Grillmair was murdered in a carjacking. A 29-year-old California man was charged with the homicide in February 2026. [25]
William Neil McCasland 68 Retired U.S. Air Force major general, former commander Air Force Research Laboratory Disappeared 2026-02-27 Missing [12][34]

Opinions and reactions

Public reactions ranged from official expressions of concern to outright skepticism. While federal officials said the cases merited review, relatives, colleagues, and outside commentators said the deaths and disappearances involved varied circumstances and did not support claims of a single coordinated plot.

Official statements

The FBI said in April that it "is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists". The United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said it will investigate reports on the dead and missing individuals. House Oversight Chair James Comer stated that the deaths or disappearances are unlikely to be a coincidence, and US president Donald Trump called it "pretty serious stuff", but hopefully coincidental.[23][12]

In late April, a spokesperson for NASA, where several of the so-called "missing scientists" once worked, stated that "nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat".[23] The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) stated that it is "paying attention".[35]

Elected officeholders

United States representative James Walkinshaw, a member of the Committee on Homeland Security,[36] dismissed any idea of a connection between the deaths, saying of the missing people that "The United States has thousands of nuclear scientists and nuclear experts. It’s not the kind of nuclear program that potentially a foreign adversary could significantly impact by targeting 10 individuals."[37] Representative Eric Burlison said that he had requested FBI involvement on the matter.[38][11]

Family and colleagues

Family members of some of those named by conspiracy theorists as among the disappeared scientists expressed confusion or discomfort at having their relatives connected to the conspiracy theory.[23] The daughter of Hicks explained Hicks suffered from known medical issues at the time of his death and that here was "no train of logic to follow that would implicate him" in the conspiracy theory, going on to say she could not "help but laugh about it".[23] Hicks' brother expressed anguish at his connection to the conspiracy theory, stating "he's had great scientific achievements and contributions to the field, and now he's going to be remembered for some baloney, Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot conspiracy theory."[24]

In a public statement, Eskridge's family explained she suffered from "chronic pain" at the time of her suicide and declined to characterize her death as unusual.[23] Grillmair's widow stated she thought the conspiracy theory was "absolute nonsense" and said her husband "would laugh" at those propagating it were he alive.[28] Casias' family reiterated their previous statement, which was supported by the New Mexico State Police, that Casias ran away of her own volition due to stress.[28]

Colleagues of the so-called "missing scientists" have also rejected the idea of conspiracy. Joe Masiero, a planetary scientist at Caltech who worked with two deceased researchers mentioned by conspiracy theorists, said he had no reason to believe any of the cases were connected, and that it was "really unfortunate to see a tragedy played out over and over again" by propagators of the conspiracy theory.[39]

Media

Journalist Mike Rothschild decried what he described as "family trauma that’s essentially being monetized for clicks" by conspiracy theorists.[2] According to science writer Mick West, more than 700,000 people work in top-secret-cleared positions in the U.S. aerospace and nuclear sectors. When viewed against existing mortality rates and causes, this would suggest around 250 persons in the industry would normally succumb to homicides and suicides over the time-period during which the 10 or 11 alleged "missing scientists" had died or disappeared, with thousands more dying of natural causes.[2]

Writing at UnHerd in April 2026, political scientist Richard Hanania opined there was "nothing to indicate that the events that have been linked together ... have any connection to one another" and questioned the idea that some of the alleged deaths or disappearances were of people that could legitimately be classified as scientists in the first place.[40] CBS News said that neither they or several experts they interviewed found any obvious links between the cases.[35] The Los Angeles Times saw no obvious evidence in April that the cases were connected,[41] The Times agreed.[11] Several experts interviewed by The Boston Globe had "strong doubts" that there was a conspiracy involved.[42]

Psychology of missing scientists belief

According to medical sociologist Robert Bartholomew, who specializes in the study of social hysteria and UFO conspiracy thinking,[43] belief in the missing scientists conspiracy theory "underscores the human tendency to see what we expect to see".[44] Bartholomew described the belief in the interconnectedness of disconnected events as a case of apophenia or "the tendency to see meaningful links in unrelated events".[44] He said that "social media postings plant the idea that there has been a coordinated attack on American scientists ... [priming some] to reinterpret random deaths and disappearances as suspicious and sinister".[44]

See also

  • Disclosure movement

Notes

  1. ^ Amy Eskridge was described widely by international news as an anti-gravity researcher, including by NBC News, The Independent, Univision, EFE, and others.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Engber, David (April 21, 2026). "The Single Dumbest Conspiracy Theory of 2026". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2026-04-22. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Adler, Dan (April 22, 2026). "11 Scientists Are Dead or Missing. It Was Only a Matter of Time Before Conspiracy Theories Hit the White House". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
  3. ^ a b Goldin, Melissa (24 April 2026). "How conspiracy theories about missing or dead scientists went from online forums to the White House". Associated Press. Retrieved 27 April 2026 – via The Washington Post.
  4. ^ a b c Fernandez, Roshan; Ostroff, Caitlin; Jeffrey-Wilensky, Jaclyn (April 25, 2026). "How a Fringe Conspiracy Theory About Missing Scientists Got the FBI's Attention". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  5. ^ a b Cameron, Claire (April 21, 2026). "FBI investigating possible links between deaths and disappearances of at least 10 scientists". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 2026-04-21. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c "BCSO Provides Updated Timeline and Description in Search for William "Neil" McCasland" (PDF). bernco.gov. Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  7. ^ a b Murphy, Chad (March 13, 2026). "Wife of missing general rebuts 'misinformation,' including UFO ties". Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on 2026-03-13. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  8. ^ Elassar, Alaa (15 March 2026). "Retired Air Force major general missing for weeks once led Wright-Patterson, an Ohio base steeped in decades of UFO theories". CNN. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  9. ^ Michael Shermer [@michaelshermer] (April 21, 2026). "Here's what's happening" (Tweet). Retrieved April 21, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  10. ^ Bayless, Kacen (April 25, 2026). "Missouri lawmaker led calls for federal probe into 'missing scientists' controversy". Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  11. ^ a b c Rissman, Kelly (16 April 2026). "'Hope it's random': Trump reacts to 'missing scientist' conspiracies". The Times. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Santucci, Jeanine (April 23, 2026). "Feds probe 'missing scientists' list. Who has died, disappeared?". USA Today. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  13. ^ Banias, MJ (May 13, 2020). "UFO Conspiracy Theorists Offer 'Ascension' From Our Hell World for $333". Vice. Archived from the original on May 29, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  14. ^ Ankeney, Angela (April 23, 2026). "Alien researcher and documentarian David Wilcock dies at 53 near Nederland". Denver Post. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  15. ^ Helmore, Edward (April 25, 2026). "Conspiracy theory over UFOs and missing scientists spreads from web to White House". The Guardian. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  16. ^ "El FBI investiga si existe relación entre la muerte o desaparición de 11 científicos de EE.UU" [The FBI is investigating whether there is a connection between the deaths or disappearances of 11 U.S. scientists]. EFE (in Spanish). 2026-04-22. Archived from the original on 2026-04-23. Hay otros casos, como el deceso de Amy Eskridge en junio de 2022 en Alabama por una herida de bala autoinfligida. La muerte de la científica, que trabajaba en el Institute for Exotic Science, ha llamado la atención pública por sus denuncias de una «guerra psicológica» destinada a detener su labor en el ámbito de la antigravedad, según dijo en un podcast [There are other cases, such as the death of Amy Eskridge in June 2022 in Alabama from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The scientist, who worked at the Institute for Exotic Science, drew public attention after claiming on a podcast that a "psychological war" was intended to stop her work in the field of anti-gravity.]
  17. ^ Dodds, Io (2026-04-21). "Federal probes are launched into deaths and disappearances of scientists with ties to US government". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2026-04-22. Retrieved 2026-04-23. There is also Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a prominent MIT physics professor shot dead at his home near Boston in December, and Amy Catherine Eskridge, an anti-gravity researcher whose death at age 34 in 2022 was ruled a suicide.
  18. ^ Gomez, Lucila (2026-04-18). "Nueva muerte en la serie de casos de científicos estadounidenses desaparecidos y fallecidos" [New Death in the Series of Cases of Missing and Deceased American Scientists]. Infobae (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2026-04-20. La muerte de Amy Eskridge, científica de 34 años vinculada al desarrollo de tecnología antigravedad y a investigaciones sobre fenómenos aéreos no identificados, se convirtió en el undécimo caso de una serie de muertes y desapariciones que involucran a científicos de Estados Unidos con acceso a información sensible. [The death of Amy Eskridge, a 34-year-old scientist linked to the development of anti-gravity technology and to investigations into unidentified aerial phenomena, became the eleventh case in a series of deaths and disappearances involving United States scientists with access to sensitive information.]
  19. ^ Martinez, Ana (2026-04-21). "La desaparición o muerte de 11 científicos con acceso a información clasificada que inquieta a la Casa Blanca" [The disappearance or death of 11 scientists with access to classified information that is troubling the White House]. La Razón. Archived from the original on 2026-04-22. El primer caso que se registró fue el de Amy Eskridge, una científica de 34 años especializada en tecnología antigravedad e investigaciones sobre objetos voladores no identificados (OVNI). [The first recorded case was that of Amy Eskridge, a 34-year-old scientist specializing in anti-gravity technology and investigations into unidentified flying objects (UFOs).]
  20. ^ Kosnar, Michael; Blankstein, Andrew; Goldman, Justin; Siemaszko, Corky (2026-04-20). "FBI will look for connections to deaths and disappearances of scientists". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2026-04-22. The oldest of the cases that has churned-up questions appears to be that of Alabama-based anti-gravity researcher Amy Catherine Eskridge, whose death at age 34 in 2022 was ruled a suicide.
  21. ^ "Los escalofriantes mensajes de científica vinculada con investigación OVNI antes de morir" [The Chilling Messages from a Scientist Linked to UFO Research Before Her Death]. Repretel (in Spanish). 2026-04-22. Archived from the original on 2026-04-24. Uno de los casos que salieron a la luz recientemente fue el de Amy Eskridge, una investigadora y fundadora del Instituto de Ciencia Exótica, que trabajaba en tecnología antigravedad. [One of the cases that recently came to light was that of Amy Eskridge, a researcher and founder of the Institute for Exotic Science who worked on anti-gravity technology.]
  22. ^ "Muertes y desapariciones de científicos encienden alertas en EEUU" [Deaths and Disappearances of Scientists Raise Alarms in the US]. Univision (in Spanish). 2026-04-22. Archived from the original on 2026-04-23. El primer caso que despertó dudas ocurrió en 2022. Amy Eskridge, investigadora enfocada en tecnología antigravedad, murió en lo que fue catalogado como un suicidio. Sin embargo, colegas cercanos señalaron inconsistencias en las circunstancias de su fallecimiento, lo que alimentó cuestionamientos sobre lo ocurrido. [The first case to raise questions occurred in 2022. Amy Eskridge, a researcher focused on antigravity technology, died in what was classified as a suicide. However, close colleagues pointed to inconsistencies in the circumstances of her death, which fueled questions about what happened.]
  23. ^ a b c d e f g Chen, Natasha; Stambaugh, Alex; Boyette, Chris (21 April 2026). "At least 10 scientists tied to sensitive US research have died or disappeared in recent years, sparking federal investigation". CNN. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  24. ^ a b "Feds Think Cases Could Be Connected ... But Families Call BS". TMZ. April 23, 2026. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  25. ^ a b c "Four Pasadena-Area Scientist Deaths or Disappearances Among Those Under Federal Review, Officials Say". Pasadena Now. April 22, 2026. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
  26. ^ Lewis, Olivia (July 9, 2026). "Family divided amid search for missing LANL worker". Taos News. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  27. ^ Viñuela, Nicolás (July 21, 2025). "Taos, New Mexico, woman Melissa Casias last seen walking eastbound on a highway in Talpa on June 26". NBC News. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  28. ^ a b c Flynn, Sheila (April 23, 2026). "'Missing scientist' cases have stoked wild speculation. For loved ones, the theories are hurtful". BBC News. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  29. ^ Dodd, Cormac (April 21, 2026). "4 missing New Mexicans among disappearances, deaths prompting federal investigation". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  30. ^ Rupolo, John (April 23, 2026). "The missing 10: Lawmaker says a foreign nation could be targeting American scientists". KOAT-TV. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  31. ^ "District Attorney Marian Ryan Releases Statement About Incident at Lake Quannapowitt". wakefieldma.gov. Town of Wakefield, Massachusetts. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  32. ^ Adams, Abigail (March 18, 2026). "Body Found in Lake Believed to Belong to Scientist Who Disappeared 3 Months Ago While Grieving Parents' Deaths". People magazine. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  33. ^ Khalip, Andrei (December 20, 2025). "Brown University shooter took IT job in Portugal after abandoning physics pursuit". Reuters. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  34. ^ Boyette, Chris (17 March 2026). "A retired general vanished from his home. An unseasonably warm spring is making him harder to find". CNN. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  35. ^ a b Schecter, Anna; Klaidman, Daniel; Milton, Pat; Teitelbaum, Callie (21 April 2026). "FBI investigating deaths and disappearances of staff at secretive government laboratories. Here's what we know". CBS News. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  36. ^ "CNN News Central - Senate Moves to Fund Most of DHS; Long Security Lines Remain; Lines at Baltimore Airport; Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) is Interviewed DHS Funding; Hearing over Fulton County Lawsuit; Long Lines in Houston" (Transcript. Aired March 27, 2026 - 09:00-09:30a ET). CNN. 27 March 2026. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  37. ^ Iorfida, Chris (April 23, 2026). "Killing of Calgary-born scientist tied to mysterious U.S. deaths, disappearances despite quick arrest". CBC. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  38. ^ McBride, Jessica (4 April 2026). "Eight Scientists Missing or Dead: Full List of Baffling Disappearances in the U.S." Men's Journal. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  39. ^ Skinner, Anna (April 23, 2026). "Colleague of Dead Scientists Speaks Out as Trump Admin Investigates". Newsweek. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  40. ^ Hanania, Richard (April 20, 2026). "Behind the 'disappearing scientists' hysteria". UnHerd. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  41. ^ Wieder, Ben (21 April 2026). "FBI probes cases of missing or dead scientists, including four from the L.A. area". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  42. ^ Stoico, Nick; Rahal, Sarah (24 April 2026). "FBI is investigating cases of 10 scientists 'who have died or mysteriously vanished,' including two in Mass. - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  43. ^ Gilbert, Samuel (6 August 2016). "Aliens on the mind: Roswell and the UFO phenomenon". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  44. ^ a b c Bartholomew, Robert (April 22, 2026). "The Mystery of the Dead and Missing Research Scientists". Psychology Today. Retrieved April 22, 2026.