Missouri lawmaker led calls for federal probe into ‘missing scientists’ controversy
A Missouri lawmaker has spearheaded calls for a federal probe into reports surrounding the mysterious deaths or disappearances of several individuals allegedly connected to government secrets.
U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison, a Missouri Republican, this week called on several top federal agencies, including the FBI and NASA, to investigate reports that “raise questions about a possible sinister connection” with the alleged deaths and disappearances of those individuals.
“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,” Burlison wrote in a joint statement with U.S. Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican.
The joint statement came as reports surrounding so-called “missing scientists” have dominated media coverage in recent days and roiled officials in Washington. While dubbed a conspiracy theory by skeptics, the controversy has sparked mounting pressure and national fury.
The core of the mystery centers on at least 10 individuals allegedly connected to key nuclear and aerospace research who have died or disappeared, igniting widespread online speculation about potential sinister activity. The Star has not independently confirmed those reports.
Kansas City National Security Campus connection
One of the alleged disappearances includes a man who reportedly contracted out of the Kansas City National Security Campus, a plant operated by Honeywell that manufactures many non-nuclear parts for the nation’s nuclear stockpile.
That worker, Steven Garcia, disappeared from his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home on Aug. 28, 2025, according to several media reports.
Kansas City National Security Campus spokesperson Donna Jungman declined to comment on the situation in an email to The Star on Friday. Jungman said the facility “does not comment on personnel issues.”
The controversy appears to have started after the February 2026 disappearance of William Neil McCasland, a retired U.S. Air Force general, who vanished from his home in New Mexico.
Burlison and Comer, in their joint statement, also pointed to several other mysterious cases, including the 2023 death of Michael David Hicks, a scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the June 2025 disappearance of Monica Reza, who served as the director of a NASA lab and disappeared while hiking.
The reports and rampant online speculation have triggered federal interest in recent days. The FBI has told national media outlets that the agency is “spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists” and is “working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and local law enforcement partners to find answers.”
NASA responds
Meanwhile, a NASA spokesperson wrote on social media this week that the agency was cooperating with relevant agencies “in relation to the missing scientists.”
“At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat,” wrote spokesperson Bethany Stevens. “The agency is committed to transparency and will provide more information as able.”
While the scientists’ deaths or disappearances have been publicly documented, the broader controversy has been criticized as a conspiracy theory, in large part due to a lack of core evidence directly tying the situations together. Skeptics and numerous media outlets argue the conspiracy has been fueled by social media, Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration.
Burlison’s role in the controversy follows a familiar trend for the first-term congressman, who said he was unavailable for comment on Friday. The Republican has built a reputation in part due to his willingness to question the federal government’s role in releasing classified information.
Much of that focus has centered around aliens. Burlison in recent months has pushed government officials to reveal more information about unidentified aerial phenomenon, the new term for what used to be called UFOs.
