The White House says it’s looking into several deaths and disappearances of people with ties to the U.S. scientific community in the last few years, asking federal investigators to see if there is any relation between the cases.
“I hope it’s random,” President Donald Trump said when asked by a reporter about the claims. “Pretty serious stuff… Hopefully, I don’t know, coincidence, whatever you want to call it. But some of them were very important people, and we’re going to look at it over the next short period.”
Trump said he had just left a meeting on the topic.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on April 17 that the administration is working with “relevant” agencies and the FBI and said “no stone will be unturned.”
The news from the White House follows weeks of tabloid reports, internet speculation and inconsistent reporting.
A USA TODAY review of publicly available information found at least 10 cases of disappearances or deaths that may be relevant to the investigation over several years, but the cases reveal inconsistent ties to scientific research and widely varying circumstances.
USA TODAY has reached out to the FBI and the Department of Energy for more information. CBS News reported that the DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees some of the facilities where some scientists have worked, is looking into the cases.
Perhaps the highest-profile case involves William “Neil” McCasland, a retired U.S. Air Force general, who once managed a science and technology program. He was seen at his home in Albuquerque in February.
The disappearance of McCasland, 68, prompted authorities to issue a “Silver Alert,” an advisory used when a senior or someone with a health or cognitive condition goes missing, citing unspecified “medical issues.”
He had previously experienced “mental fog,” authorities said, but investigators didn’t think he was cognitively impaired at the time of his disappearance. They said there was no evidence of foul play at the time, and items including a revolver appeared to be missing from the residence as well.
McCasland was the commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, and managed a science and technology program. He joined the base in 2011 and retired in 2013, the Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. The base was home to a 1950s and 60s project that looked into UFO sightings.
