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A U.S. congressman said on Thursday that he would get to the bottom of the mystery behind the deaths or disappearances of 13 scientists in the previous few months. This came as President Donald Trump offered an update on the federal government’s probe.
“The count is up to 13. Thirteen American scientists tied to nuclear and space research, missing or dead,” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., said on X. “Every adversary on the planet celebrates each one we lose. We are weaker as a nation today because of these losses, and I’m working to get answers.”
“I asked the FBI directly if they had opened an investigation into Matthew Sullivan’s suspicious death,” he said in a later post. “They would not confirm or deny. I’ve been pushing on this for almost a year. The American people deserve straight answers from their FBI. Period.”
The New York Post says that Sullivan, who was 39 years old, died of an accidental drug overdose in his home in Falls Church, Virginia, on May 12, 2024. This was just after he agreed to testify before Congress about government UFO activities.
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The Post said that Sullivan was a U.S. Air Force intelligence officer who won a Bronze Star during Operation Enduring Freedom. Thereafter, he worked for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Air Force Intelligence Agency.
The theories about the missing and deceased scientists started after retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland went missing earlier this year. He used to be responsible for the Air Force Research Laboratory and had ties to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where top-secret nuclear research is done.
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Since 2022, at least 13 people have died or gone missing, including Sullivan. Most of them were working in nuclear science or space exploration, and several of them did so under strange circumstances.
Monica Reza, 60; Melissa Casias, 53; Anthony Chavez, 79; and Steven Garcia, 48, all went missing between 2023 and 2026, and each of their disappearances was considered suspicious.
All of these people died between 2022 and 2026: Michael David Hicks, 59; Frank Maiwald, 61; Nuno Loureiro, 47; Jason Thomas, 45; Amy Eskridge, 34; Carl Grillmair, 47; and Joshua LeBlanc, 29.
Reports of multiple scientists connected to U.S. aerospace and defense programs who have died or gone missing since 2022 have drawn new attention following action by congressional investigators, though authorities have not confirmed any link between the cases.
The House Oversight Committee on Monday requested information from several federal agencies regarding the deaths and disappearances of at least 11 researchers with ties to organizations such as NASA and private companies, including SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Committee Chairman James Comer and Rep. Eric Burlison sent letters to Kash Patel, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, requesting staff-level briefings by April 27, Fortune magazine reported.
“If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets,” the letters read.
On Monday, Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said he did not believe the deaths were a coincidence. “Once you see the facts, it would suggest that something sinister could be happening and it would be a national security concern,” Comer said.
He added he and Burlison were looking to “see if we can put it together and find any missing links to try to solve what’s going on here. Because it’s very unlikely that this is a coincidence. Congress is very concerned about this. Our committee is making this one of our priorities now because we view this as a national security threat.”
The White House officially acknowledged the pattern on April 15, when press secretary Karoline Leavitt was directly asked about it during a briefing. “If true, of course, that’s definitely something I think this government and administration would deem worth looking into,” she responded.
Later that day, President Trump told reporters, “I don’t know. Hopefully, coincidence, whatever you want to call it. But some of them were very important people,” adding he would have answers within “the next week and a half.” He added: “I just left a meeting on that subject, so pretty serious stuff.”
In a post on X later in the week, Leavitt confirmed the administration “is 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,” adding, “No stone will be unturned.”
Patel confirmed that the bureau is investigating, telling Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo: We’re going to look for connections on whether there are connections to classified access, access to classified information, and or foreign actors.”
Patel then said, “If there’s any connections that lead to nefarious conduct or conspiracy, this FBI will make the appropriate arrest.”
In a statement to Fortune, the FBI added it “is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists. We are working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and local law enforcement partners to find answers.”
