‘No stone will be unturned’: White House taps FBI over missing scientists case, calls concerns ‘legitimate’

Donald Trump has directed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to lead an inquiry into possible links between a series of mysterious deaths and disappearances of nearly a dozen individuals over the past three years, the White House said Friday, April 17. These deaths and disappearances include American scientists, retired military personnel, and individuals with information on the US nuclear program.

Terming the troubling questions around the missing US scientists "legitimate," Press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a post on X that the White House is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies “to holistically review all of the cases together and identify any potential commonalities that may exist.”

“No stone will be unturned in this effort, and the White House will provide updates when we have them,” she added.


Her announcement appeared to follow a question from a Fox News correspondent during a press briefing on Wednesday. The reporter referred to as many as 10 individuals connected to space programs or nuclear research who had either disappeared or died under different circumstances.


At the time, she said of the matter, “if true,” was “definitely something I think this government and administration would deem worth looking into.”

String of cases sparks concern

Reports of at least 11 deaths and disappearances involving experts in space, defense, and nuclear fields have circulated this month, prompting speculation within the scientific community. Authorities have not confirmed any official connection among the cases.

One of the earliest incidents dates to July 2023, when Michael David Hicks, a physicist at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory known for work on comets and asteroids, died. No cause of death has been disclosed, according to NewsNation.

Other cases highlighted by media reports include the fatal shooting of Carl Grillmair, an astrophysicist at California Institute of Technology, in February; the disappearance of retired Air Force Gen. William Neil McCasland in New Mexico; and Jason Thomas, whose body was recovered from a Massachusetts lake roughly three months after he went missing.

Another case cited in reports is the 2022 death of Amy Eskridge, a Huntsville, Alabama–based researcher who was said to be working on “anti-gravity technology.”

Some individuals reportedly vanished from homes, hiking trails, and highways, while at least one person was shot in their residence. For several cases, no cause of death has been publicly disclosed.

Trump calls reports “pretty serious stuff”

Donald Trump was also asked about the disappearances on Thursday as he headed to Las Vegas. The President told reporters Thursday that he had “just left” a meeting on the subject, describing the reports as “pretty serious stuff.” When asked about possible foreign involvement, he criticized his predecessor Joe Biden and accused him of opening the border, suggesting a foreign infiltration during his term.


“I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half,” Trump said, adding, “some of them were very important people.”


The proximity of some cases to research areas such as space and unidentified aerial phenomena has fueled speculation about coordinated foul play or foreign espionage. Officials, however, have not confirmed any link among the incidents.