FBI, House Oversight Committee Probe Deaths and Disappearances of U.S. Nuclear, Aerospace Scientists

A federal investigation is underway after at least 10 people tied to sensitive U.S. nuclear and aerospace research have died or disappeared in recent years, prompting lawmakers and the FBI to seek connections among cases that authorities say have not yet been linked.

The FBI said it is “spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists,” and it added that it is working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and state and local law enforcement partners to “find answers,” according to CNN.

Ars Technica

The House Oversight Committee announced it will investigate the deaths and disappearances, saying the reports “raise questions about a possible sinister connection” and seeking briefings from the FBI, the Defense Department, the Department of Energy and NASA, as described by CNN.

The White House also said it is working with federal agencies to probe potential links, with President Donald Trump calling the matter “pretty serious stuff,” CNN reported.

NASA said it is “coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies” and that “At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat,” quoting NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens, as CNN and USA Today both reported.

The Los Angeles Times described the FBI’s announcement as a broad investigation into “at least 10 scientists and staff connected to highly sensitive research,” and it said the FBI’s statement came after the House Oversight Committee announced it would investigate reports of disappearances and deaths.

In parallel, the Orange County Register reported that the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said 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,” and that “No stone will be unturned.”

The cases, lawmakers said, began in 2023 with the death of Michael David Hicks, a scientist who worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for nearly 25 years, and the investigation now spans multiple years and different circumstances.

CNN reported that Hicks, 59, died July 30, 2023, and that his cause of death was not disclosed, while the Los Angeles Times said Hicks “died on July 30, 2023, at the age of 59” and that “No cause of death was disclosed.”

BBC

CNN also said Hicks specialized in comets and asteroids, and it quoted Hicks’s daughter, Julia Hicks, describing the speculation as “shaken up” and saying, “From what I know of my dad, there’s no train of logic to follow that would implicate him in this potential federal investigation.”

The National Post described the broader conspiracy theory as having “found its way to Washington” and becoming the focus of a multi-agency investigation, while it also said state and local police across the country have found “no evidence linking the cases.”

USA Today reported that the White House and federal agencies are taking a closer look at “the list of about 10 cases,” and it said the cases range from a retired Air Force general missing—where authorities previously said there was “no evidence of foul play”—to an astrophysicist shot outside his home.

The Los Angeles Times tied three of the cases to the Los Angeles area and said the FBI’s probe includes “four from the Los Angeles area,” including Monica Jacinto Reza, who disappeared on June 22, 2025, and Carl Grillmair, who was fatally shot on Feb. 16.

CNN further described other deaths and disappearances connected to JPL, including Frank Maiwald, who died in Los Angeles in 2024 at 61, and Monica Reza, a 60-year-old aerospace engineer who disappeared while hiking in a Los Angeles forest in June 2025.

Reactions to the investigation have split between officials who frame the matter as a national security threat and critics who argue the pattern does not hold up.

“The shooting death of a Calgary-born astrophysicist in mid-February in front of his Southern California residencesent shockwavesthrough his academic and professional circles”

CBC

CNN quoted House Oversight Chair James Comer saying, “It’s very unlikely that this is a coincidence,” and it reported that he told “Fox News Sunday” that “Congress is very concerned about this. Our committee is making this one of our priorities now because we view this as a national security threat.”

CNN also quoted Rep. James Walkinshaw, a Democrat on the Oversight Committee, saying, “The United States has thousands of nuclear scientists and nuclear experts,” and adding, “It’s not the kind of nuclear program that potentially a foreign adversary could significantly impact by targeting 10 individuals.”

The Orange County Register included the Oversight Committee’s joint statement that the lawmakers are investigating “recent unconfirmed public reporting” and that 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.”

At the same time, the USA Today report quoted Daniel Engber calling the panic “unbelievably dumb,” and it also cited sociologist Robert Bartholomew’s skepticism in a report for Psychology Today.

The CBC report described Daniel Engber’s Atlantic critique as “another piece of flagrant nonsense [that] has ascended to the highest levels of U.S. politics and media,” and it quoted Mick West as writing, “The deaths are real. The families’ grief is real. The pattern is not,” characterizing what is occurring as a “death list fallacy.”

Meanwhile, NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens reiterated the agency’s position that “At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat,” and the Los Angeles Times reported that NASA said it was “coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies” while also saying it was “committed to transparency.”

While the core fact of a federal probe is consistent across outlets, the reporting diverges in how it frames the underlying cases and the evidence of connection.

CNN emphasizes that “Authorities have not established any links between the cases,” and it says the cases vary widely, with “Some involve unsolved homicides, while others are missing persons cases with no signs of foul play,” and it notes that in at least two instances families pointed to “preexisting medical conditions or personal struggles.”

CNN

The Los Angeles Times similarly states that “There is no evidence at this point that the deaths and disappearances, which occurred over a span of four years, are connected,” and it describes the FBI’s investigation as broad while also citing NASA’s statement that “At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat.”

By contrast, the Orange County Register foregrounds the House Oversight Committee’s framing by quoting the lawmakers’ claim that the reports “may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security,” and it repeats the committee’s request for a briefing on “processes and procedures in place to protect American scientific secrets and ensure personnel safety.”

The National Post describes the story as a “conspiracy theory” that has become the focus of a “multi-agency investigation,” and it adds that “state and local police across the country have found no evidence linking the cases.”

The CBC report highlights the speed of law enforcement action in at least one case, describing that a suspect was charged with Carl Grillmair’s murder and that “police appear satisfied they have their man,” while also noting that Grillmair’s name surfaced “for weeks” as part of a cluster that online sleuths deemed suspicious.

Geo News provides a “full list” of “11 missing, deceased US scientists,” including dates and locations such as “Lake Quannapowitt, Massachusetts” and “Sandia Mountains, New Mexico,” and it asserts that the FBI launched a “national investigation” into “at least 11 American scientists.”

The next steps described by officials center on briefings, interagency coordination, and continued investigation into whether any commonalities exist among the deaths and disappearances.

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a national investigation into the deaths and disappearances of at least 11 American scientists”

Geo News

CNN reported that the House Oversight Committee is seeking briefings on the matter from the FBI, the Defense Department, the Department of Energy and NASA, and it said the committee announced it will investigate reports of the deaths and disappearances of individuals who it said had access to sensitive scientific information.

Geo News

The Orange County Register said the House Oversight Committee 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,” and it quoted the committee’s joint statement asking for 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.”

USA Today reported that the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on April 17 that the administration is working with “relevant” agencies and the FBI and said “no stone will be unturned,” and it described NASA’s coordination role through Bethany Stevens’s statement that “At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that the FBI’s announcement came after the House Oversight Committee announced it would investigate and send letters seeking information from agencies involved in the federal inquiry as well as NASA, which owns the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge.

In the meantime, law enforcement actions continue in individual cases, including the arrest and charging of a suspect in Carl Grillmair’s killing, with CBC reporting that “Freddy Snyder is scheduled to face arraignment next week” and the Los Angeles Times reporting that “The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department arrested Freddy Snyder, 29, in connection with the shooting.”

Looking ahead, Geo News framed the FBI’s effort as a “national investigation” into “at least 11 American scientists,” and it quoted President Donald Trump saying, “I hope it’s random,” after officials briefed him on the cases as “pretty serious stuff.”