Overview
- Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday she has not yet spoken with agencies about the reports and pledged to get an answer after Fox News pressed the issue at the daily briefing.
- Media roundups cite roughly 10 cases since 2023 involving personnel linked to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Kansas City National Security Campus, and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
- Named cases include retired Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland’s February disappearance in Albuquerque, aerospace engineer Monica Reza’s June 2025 hike in California, and contractor Steven Garcia last seen in August 2025 in New Mexico.
- Several deaths tied to JPL, including Michael David Hicks in 2023 and Frank Maiwald in 2024, have no publicly disclosed cause, while authorities have not confirmed any link or common motive across the incidents.
- Lawmakers such as Rep. Eric Burlison have urged FBI involvement, as outlets from Daily Mail to Newsweek and Mediaite highlight the pattern, though some lists rely on uneven sourcing and no coordinated federal probe has been announced.