EXCLUSIVE: FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau will produce a report “in short order” after reviewing multiple state-level investigations at the White House’s request to determine whether any are connected.
“Those investigations are collectively being looked at by the FBI pursuant to (the) President, the White House’s request,” Patel told Fox News Digital in an interview Tuesday. “So we’re reaching out. We’ve already done it, we’re engaged. They’re all state cases, but we’re looking to see if there’s any connections, and we’re going to have a final report here in short order.”
He poured cold water on the idea that all the cases of mysterious deaths and disappearances that have resurfaced in recent weeks are connected — noting that some are not even scientists — but said the FBI is “just trying to do our homework.”
“We are trying to make sure, was there a connection? Did they, were they all working on the same thing or not? Those questions we’re answering right now with our state and local partners, and we’ll produce a report shortly.”
TWO MORE TRUMP ALLIES SAY BIDEN FBI SECRETLY SEIZED THEIR DATA AMID ‘WEAPONIZATION’ CONTROVERSY
At least a dozen cases involving scientists and others tied to government and defense research have drawn renewed attention in recent weeks, as federal authorities work to determine whether any are connected. The cases — which span disappearances, confirmed homicides and deaths previously ruled accidental — have circulated widely online and prompted questions about whether a broader pattern could pose a national security concern.
The FBI declined to say how much of the report would be made public, noting the matter remains an active investigation.
President Donald Trump also has acknowledged the cases, saying his administration is working to determine whether the incidents are connected.
“I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half,” Trump said to reporters April 16. “I just left a meeting on that subject.”
“The White House continues to coordinate across the interagency in order to investigate these events and provide transparency to the American people. We will not get ahead of the investigation,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital Wednesday.
The National Nuclear Security Administration has said it is aware of reports involving personnel across its labs and facilities and is reviewing the matter.
At least a dozen cases involving scientists and defense-linked personnel have drawn renewed attention in recent weeks.
They include the disappearance of retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William “Neil” McCasland, who oversaw classified research programs and vanished from his New Mexico home earlier in 2026, and the death of NASA-affiliated engineer Joshua LeBlanc, whose body was found in a burned vehicle hours after he was reported missing.
Also among the cases is Monica Jacinto Reza, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer who disappeared while hiking in California, and Melissa Casias, a Los Alamos National Laboratory employee who vanished in New Mexico after leaving work.
Another case revealed by Fox News Digital involves Army biochemist Jude Height, whose 2022 death was ruled accidental after he was struck by a vehicle, but has since drawn renewed scrutiny from family members and former colleagues who say key details remain unexplained.
Authorities have not indicated that any of the cases are connected.
