The FBI said on April 21, 2026, that it was spearheading the effort to look for connections among 10 missing or deceased scientists and staff tied to sensitive federal labs. The agency said it was working with the Department of Energy, the Department of War and state and local law enforcement partners as questions grew over cases spread across three years.
President Trump said Thursday that he had just left a meeting on the matter and called it serious. He added that it was “hopefully, coincidence,” but said some of the people involved were “very important” and that investigators would look into it.
The cases involve workers with ties to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory, but people close to the investigations have said they saw no links between them. That uncertainty has helped fuel the attention around the inquiry, especially after an earlier report that the Department of Energy was handling the matter before the FBI’s role increased.
One name at the center of the speculation is retired Major General William Neil McCasland, 68, who was last seen at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in late February. McCasland retired from the Air Force more than 12 years ago, and his wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, said in a Facebook post that it “seems quite unlikely” he was taken to extract dated secrets from him. His disappearance drew online attention because he once commanded the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
McCasland is one of four current or former employees at sensitive sites who went missing in New Mexico over roughly the last year, according to the facts provided. On April 16, a government source said the FBI was not then investigating the disappearances and deaths as part of a suspicious pattern and said the Department of Energy was looking into the cases. FBI spokesman Ben Williamson said the bureau was aware and providing all assistance requested, while also noting that the FBI usually is not the lead in matters like this unless local authorities ask.
By Sunday, FBI Director Kash Patel said on that the bureau would be spearheading the effort with partners at the Department of Energy and the Department of War. The shift leaves a clear answer to the main question around the investigation: the FBI is now in charge of trying to determine whether the deaths and disappearances are connected, even though investigators so far have not said they are.
