String of scientist deaths, vanishings fuels expert talks of shadow ops and silenced secrets: ‘Very serious’

Nearly a dozen mysterious deaths and disappearances of high-level scientists throughout the United States is raising eyebrows as one expert suggests the individuals may have been targeted for their knowledge or forced to disappear for their own protection. 

At least 11 people have either died or vanished since 2022, with the vast majority involved in researching nuclear science and space – and some connected to UFO studies. 

Michael David Hicks, 59; Frank Maiwald, 61; Nuno Loureiro, 47; Jason Thomas, 45; Amy Eskridge, 34; and Carl Grillmair, 47, all died between 2023 and 2026, with each individual playing a key role in vital scientific research. 

While Hicks and Maiwald’s cause of deaths remain unknown, Grillmair was gunned down outside his home on Feb. 16, 2026. Freddy Snyder, 29, was charged with his murder.

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Loureiro was also shot at his Massachusetts home, and died from his injuries one day later on Dec. 15, 2025. His death was linked to a separate mass shooting at Brown University. 

The body of Thomas, an associate director of chemical biology at pharmaceutical company Novartis, was discovered in Lake Quannapowitt, Massachusetts three months after he was last seen walking from his home late at night.  

Eskridge, a Huntsville, Alabama–based researcher, died June 11, 2022, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Monica Reza, 60; Melissa Casias, 53; Anthony Chavez, 79; Steven Garcia, 48; and retired Air Force General William Neil McCasland, 68, were all reported missing throughout 2023 to 2026, with each of their disappearances occurring under suspicious circumstances.

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Some scientists vanished from their homes, with others disappearing on hiking trails and other public areas. 

While the individuals do not appear to be connected through their work and research, one expert is pointing to the possibility that something more sinister could be at play.

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“The disappearances of some of these people may be because there are some confidential investigations going on at a very significant level federally, where there are certain people that may be either taken because they know too much or have made themselves disappear because they would be assets that could be interrogated or even charged with various crimes,” Dr. Steven Greer, a ufologist and a retired physician, told Fox News Digital.

Greer also points to one possibility being that the scientists have been targeted by a transnational criminal organization looking to keep their research out of the public eye.

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“In certain significant quarters federally, it has been concluded that the programs – some euphemistically call them legacy programs – have been attached to UFO, UAP research and development, and have been involved as a criminal organization,” Greer said. 

In response to the renewed public attention, President Donald Trump has vowed to investigate the mysterious disappearances and deaths of the various scientists.

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“I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “I just left a meeting on that subject.”

Additionally, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) previously told Fox News Digital it is looking into the cases.

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“NNSA is aware of reports related to employees of our labs, plants, and sites and is looking into the matter.”

In light of the closely-timed incidents, Greer believes the federal government needs to step in to provide more protections for whistleblowers as they work to find the cause of the various mysterious deaths and disappearances.

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“This is something very serious,” Greer told Fox News Digital. “Even though it sounds like a James Bond movie, it’s no joke. We have very heroic and patriotic people who have been trying to come forward, but the United States government, in my opinion, has failed them by not providing adequate protections.”

Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.