US President Donald Trump has directed the FBI to investigate a series of deaths and disappearances involving scientists and government-linked workers with access to sensitive aerospace, defense, and nuclear information.
The announcement came after weeks of online speculation that the cases could somehow be connected to UFO research, a claim the administration has not verified.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the government was “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.”
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Trump said the matter was serious when asked about it last week. “I just left a meeting on that subject, so pretty serious stuff,” he told reporters, adding, “Hopefully, coincidence... but some of them were very important people, and we are going to look at it.”
The Independent reported that the White House framed the inquiry as a broad review of cases involving scientists and officials who had either vanished or died in recent months, while at least 10 top US scientists and researchers were being discussed in the probe.
Wife dismisses online theories amid developing situation
Among the cases drawing attention is the disappearance of retired US Air Force Maj Gen William Neil McCasland, who had previously worked on UFO-related research.
His wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, dismissed online theories in a Facebook post, writing that it “seems quite unlikely that he was taken to extract very dated secrets from him.” The Week, citing reports in American media, said the cases stretch back to 2023 and include deaths and disappearances linked to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and other sensitive facilities.
Despite the speculation, the report said law enforcement and national security officials have not identified a credible link among the cases.
The FBI was treating it as a “developing situation,” while the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration has also begun reviewing the matter.
