Several prominent scientists and researchers in the U.S. have reportedly died or gone missing over the past year, fueling speculation about whether some of the disappearances may have occurred under suspicious circumstances.
William Neil McCasland, a 68-year-old retired Air Force major general who had knowledge of UFOs, went missing in New Mexico on Feb. 27, NewsNation reported. Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett told the Daily Mail on Sunday that he believes there may be a pattern emerging of other researchers throughout the nation similarly disappearing “under suspicious circumstances.”
“There have been several others throughout the country that have disappeared under suspicious circumstances,” Burchett told the outlet. “I think we ought to be paying attention to it.”
The congressman also indicated that “the numbers seem very high in these certain areas of research,” adding “I think we’d better be paying attention, and I don’t think we should trust our government.” He went on to claim that researchers with knowledge about UFOs are usually “very secretive about what they know.”
“Everybody’s talking about the UFO stuff,” the Tennessee Republican told the Daily Mail. “Those folks are very secretive about what they know. So I suspect very much that [McCasland] was involved in some of that.”
Burchett’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
McCasland’s wife, Susan, asserted that no “foul play” was suspected in her husband’s disappearance, but added that he had left their house with just a pair of boots and his .38-caliber revolver on the day he disappeared, according to the Daily Mail.
Still, investigative journalist Ross Coulthart suggested during a Sunday appearance on “NewsNation Prime” that “foul play” may be a possibility in relation to McCasland’s disappearance.
“We have to ask, now, [about] the possibility of foul play — is there somebody who has interceded to take the general out of the picture?” Coulthart told NewsNation. “He was a man with some of the most sensitive U.S. military intelligence secrets in his head, especially particle beam technology.”
Additionally, Monica Reza went missing on June 22, 2025 while on a hike in the Angeles National Forest, per a Facebook page which describes its mission as aiming to “raising awareness and organizing volunteer efforts” to help find her. Reza previously served as a material scientist at Aerojet Rocketdyne, which notably was funded by NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory for several years, The New York Post (NY Post) reported.
Hellbound and Down 