Disturbing pattern: deaths of key US scientists raise concerns
Nine US scientists have died or gone missing in three years, creating a disturbing pattern according to intelligence sources cited by the Daily Mail.
Nine top American researchers and administrators in key fields have died or gone missing over the past three years, establishing what US intelligence sources cited by the Daily Mail describe as a "disturbing pattern". In the latest incident, the body of missing cancer research scientist Jason Thomas was discovered in a Massachusetts lake last month. The month prior, retired Air Force General William McCasland, who reportedly worked on the US nuclear program, went missing, while astrophysicist Carl Grillmair was gunned down on his porch in California.
"You can say these are all suspicious, and these are scientists who have worked in critical technology," former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker told the Daily Mail. He reportedly stated that foreign intelligence services from both US allies and adversaries have targeted Americans in possession of top scientific secrets for decades. "It's been happening since the Cold War... especially when nuclear technology and missile technology were first coming to the forefront," he added.
Prior to his disappearance, McCasland led the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), where he oversaw funding for a jet engine project by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) materials chief Monica Reza, who also went missing last year, just months after assuming the position. Grillmair's work on the US NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor orbital telescopes is also tied to the Air Force, as both are used by the US military to track foreign satellites and missile launches.
Two other scientists at NASA's JPL, Frank Maiwald and Michael Hicks, have reportedly died since 2023, though no foul play has been alleged in these cases and no cause of death has been made public. Anthony Chavez and Melissa Casias, who both worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), which has cooperated with the AFRL on nuclear research, were reported missing last summer. Both reportedly left their New Mexico homes on foot, leaving behind their cars, keys, wallets, and phones. Additionally, respected physicist Nuno Loureiro, who was reportedly working on breakthrough fusion energy research, was fatally shot in Massachusetts in December.
