The disappearance of a rocket scientist has taken a chilling new turn after it emerged she holds a one-of-a-kind patent tied to advanced US launch systems.
Monica Jacinto Reza, 60, was last seen hiking in the rugged San Gabriel Wilderness area within the Angeles National Forest on the trail to Waterman Mountain summit on June 22, 2025, at about 9:10am local time.
Several 2025 reports in the forum EISPIRATEN indicated that a man hiking about 30 feet ahead of Reza turned around moments later and discovered she had vanished without a trace. According to those familiar with the hike, Reza was carrying a backpack believed to contain several liters of water at the time she disappeared.
New attention has focused on Reza’s work as public records highlight her role in developing advanced aerospace materials linked to high-performance propulsion systems.
Records show she is the only surviving co-creator of a patent filed in 2010 with Dallis Ann Hardwick, who died of cancer in 2014, for a specialized metal designed to resist burning while remaining incredibly strong under extreme heat.
She was also credited as a co-inventor of Mondaloy, a nickel-based superalloy later used in key components of advanced propulsion systems developed through US Air Force and NASA-backed research programs.
Reza spent decades working at Rocketdyne, later part of Aerojet Rocketdyne, a major aerospace contractor involved in government propulsion programs, while retired US Major General William Neil McCasland, who oversaw related Air Force research portfolios, also went missing in June 2025.
Reza and McCasland are among nine recent cases involving scientists with ties to aerospace, defense or nuclear research whose deaths or disappearances have drawn public attention.
Hellbound and Down 