Part One of this series introduced two NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists who died with no public cause of death and no statement from their employer.
The FBI confirmed on Tuesday that it is leading an investigation to look for possible connections among at least 10 missing or deceased scientists and government workers tied to sensitive nuclear and space technology labs, working alongside the Departments of Energy and War, and state and local law enforcement. (CBS News)
Investigators close to the various individual cases say they currently see no links between them, though President Trump has called the situation "pretty serious stuff" and expressed hope the cases are coincidental. (CBS News) The Pennant has partnered with an investigative journalist based in Washington, D.C., who is contributing to this series.
This installment covers cases three, four, and five on the list. They involve a woman who vanished in front of a witness, a world-renowned physicist shot dead at his front door, and a retired Air Force general who walked out of his home and was never seen again.
Monica Reza, 60 — Missing Since June 22, 2025
Monica Jacinto Reza was Director of Materials Processing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Her career spanned more than three decades, and her most significant achievement was co-inventing Mondaloy, a nickel-based superalloy used in rocket engines that was funded by NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
On the morning of June 22, 2025, Reza disappeared while hiking the Mount Waterman Trail in the Angeles National Forest with two experienced companions. Around 9:10 a.m., her hiking companion, approximately 30 feet ahead on the trail, turned to check on her, and she smiled and waved. When he looked back shortly after, she was gone.
Despite extensive search and rescue efforts, her body has never been found. (FOX 11 Los Angeles) The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department lists her as a missing person. No explanation has been offered for how someone disappears in plain view of a companion on an open trail.
Nuno Loureiro, 47 — Killed December 16, 2025
Nuno Loureiro was the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at MIT and director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center. He was one of the world's leading experts in plasma physics and fusion energy, the field of research aimed at producing virtually limitless clean power. In January 2025, President Biden awarded him the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, one of the U.S. government's highest honors for researchers. (Newsweek)
On Dec. 15, 2025, Loureiro was shot at his residence in Brookline, Massachusetts, and died from his injuries the following day. Authorities linked the killing to Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old former classmate from Portugal, who had fatally shot two Brown University students earlier that day and later died by suicide in New Hampshire. The motive remains unclear, though the two studied together at Instituto Superior Técnico from 1995 to 2000. (PRIMETIMER)
Authorities say the cases are not connected to his research. Others are not so certain. He was on the verge of what colleagues described as a breakthrough in fusion energy. That work died with him.
Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Neil McCasland, 68 — Missing Since Feb. 27, 2026
Neil McCasland was not a scientist in the traditional sense, but his name runs through this story like a thread. He commanded the Air Force Research Laboratory and oversaw the Air Force group that funded Monica Reza's Mondaloy research in the early 2000s. He has also been named in connection with classified aerospace and UAP programs at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
On the morning of Feb. 27, 2026, McCasland disappeared. His phone, prescription glasses, and wearable devices were located at his residence, but missing items included his hiking boots, wallet, and a .38-caliber revolver. His wife told a 911 dispatcher that he had "planned not to be found." He has not been seen since.
Three people professionally connected to one another — Reza, McCasland, and JPL — are now on this list. None of the agencies that employed them has said a word.
Part Three of Gone Dark will examine the cases of Carl Grillmair, Jason Thomas, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory disappearances.
The Pennant continues to file public records requests and pursue interviews with federal officials. Our project partner in Washington, D.C., has met with officials from the Justice Department. We will release the details of that meeting soon.
If you have information relevant to this series or would like to comment, contact us at [email protected].