Two Aerospace Experts Vanish, Prompting Security Probes

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland and materials scientist Monica Jacinto Reza, both with backgrounds in advanced aerospace research, have disappeared in separate incidents over the past year, prompting questions from lawmakers and security experts about potential links to sensitive U.S. defense programs.

McCasland, 68, vanished from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on February 27, 2026. His wife reported that he left carrying only hiking boots, a wallet, and a .38-caliber revolver, abandoning his phone, glasses, and other personal items. As a former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, McCasland oversaw numerous classified projects in aerospace and propulsion technologies. The FBI has joined local authorities in the search, but no evidence of foul play has been confirmed, and the investigation remains active.

Reza, 60, who worked as a rocket engineer for Aerojet Rocketdyne and had ties to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, disappeared on June 22, 2025, while hiking the Mount Waterman Trail in California's Angeles National Forest with companions. Despite extensive efforts involving helicopters, search dogs,...