NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!A series of suspicious deaths and disappearances of high-level scientists across the country over the past several years is reaching a fever pitch and catching the attention of online sleuths all the way to the White House.Since 2023, at least eight people, mostly involved in researching space and nuclear science, have died or vanished, some under murky circumstances. Some have had connections to UFO research.Asked Wednesday by Fox News’ Peter Doocy about the trend, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration will likely look into the matter.”I haven’t spoken to our relevant agencies about it. I will certainly do that, and we’ll get you an answer,” Leavitt said. “If true, of course, that’s definitely something I think this government and its administration would deem worth looking into. So let me do that for you.”1) Michael David HicksDeath: July 30, 2023Age: 59Cause of Death: Not releasedHicks was a scientist working at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1998 to 2022, according to the Daily Mail. He worked on the space program’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) project, which focused on understanding the physical properties of asteroids and comets, and whether they could be re-directed in outer space.2) Frank MaiwaldDeath: July 4, 2024Age: 61Cause of Death: Not releasedMaiwald also worked in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He designed a critical instrument for a project called Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) – Visible to Shortwave Infrared (VSWIR), a future NASA mission to launch a satellite into space and map the “living color” of the earth in far greater detail than can be observed by the human eye, according to his obituary.Just over a year before he died, he was working on a program to help astronauts on space missions identify signs of life on other planets, including Jupiter’s moon, Europa, Saturn’s moon Enceladus, or the dwarf planet Ceres, the Daily Mail reported.3) Monica RezaMissing: June 22, 2025Age: 60Status: UnknownMonica Reza went missing while hiking in the Mount Waterman of the Angeles National Forest in California. A missing person’s flyer from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said there was concern for Reza’s well-being, and asked tipsters to call 818-248-3464.Reza also worked for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as an aerospace engineer, reportedly overseeing the lab’s Materials Processing Group, which “focuses on developing new materials and advanced manufacturing technologies for spacecraft, specializing in bulk metallic glass alloys and metal additive manufacturing,” according to NASA.4) Melissa CasiasMissing: June 26, 2025Age: 53Status: UnknownCasias worked as an administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Labs in New Mexico, which reportedly developed nuclear weapons for the Manhattan Project.On the day she disappeared, she dropped off lunch for her daughter and was never seen again.5) Anthony ChavezMissing: May 8, 2025Ag
