Megan Basham

Yeah, John.

So the basic outline here is the stuff, I have to say, of a Hollywood thriller.

So in the last four years, 10, possibly even 11 scientists and researchers, all with ties to aerospace, nuclear, or advanced defense research, have either died unexpectedly or they've gone missing.

Now, members of the House Oversight Committee are warning that if these cases are connected, it could represent what they call a grave threat to U.S.

national security.

So they're calling for an investigation.

This was committee chair James Comer on Sunday.

So the committee has sent letters to numerous agencies, including the FBI, the Department of Energy, NASA, and the National Nuclear Security Administration, asking all of them for briefings about these incidents and also what protections exist for personnel working with this kind of sensitive scientific information.

Yeah, so one of the earliest cases that's frequently being cited here is Michael David Hicks.

He was a longtime scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and he died back in 2023.

Authorities never publicly disclosed a cause of death.

And then another case is Monica Jacinto Reza.

She also worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a director.

And she disappeared in 2025 while hiking.

And despite extensive searches with helicopters, radar, volunteers, she's never been found.

And then in February of this year, retired Air Force Major General William Neal McCasland.

He previously led the Air Force Research Laboratory, and he worked on classified aerospace programs.

Well, he vanished from his home in New Mexico.

A repairman spoke with him in his house the morning of February 27th, but when his wife returned home around noon, he was gone.

So investigators say his phone was left behind, but his hiking boots, his wallet, and somewhat key here, a .38 caliber revolver were missing.