Accident, complot ou ingérence étrangère ? La disparition énigmatique de onze chercheurs spécialistes du nucléaire ou de l’espace inquiète la Maison Blanche
In less than four years, eleven American researchers or scientists specializing in space or nuclear energy have been killed or are missing. This series of enigmatic events has led to an FBI investigation, but also to numerous conspiracy theories.
It's a question that's even being asked at the White House. How can we explain the disappearance or death of eleven of America's most prominent researchers, all working in the fields of space or nuclear energy, at the heart of the country's largest institutions, in less than four years? While the conspiracy theories that have proliferated can be dismissed, the possibility of foreign interference is being taken seriously by authorities across the Atlantic. Alerted, the FBI has opened an investigation.
The most recent disappearance occurred on February 27, 2026, in New Mexico. William Neil Wilkerson, 68, a former high-ranking officer in the US Air Force, left his home without informing his wife, leaving behind his eyeglasses, phone, and smartwatch—personal belongings he usually carried everywhere. The couple's vehicles were also left untouched. Only a backpack, a pair of shoes, and one of the former serviceman's weapons, a .38 caliber pistol, were missing.
Minutes after his disappearance, William Neil Wilkerson's wife raised the alarm. Law enforcement was deployed. They searched all of Bernalillo County in Albuquerque, without finding any trace of the 60-year-old, except for a gray sweatshirt with the Air Force logo, found about two kilometers away, according to the Albuquerque Journal. The case, which at first appeared to be an isolated incident, was quickly linked to other mysterious disappearances.
Indeed, William Neil Wilkerson held some of the most sensitive positions in the Air Force for many years. In particular, he directed a laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, famous for allegedly housing extraterrestrial debris. And, in fact, over the past four years, eleven people—mostly scientists, all with ties to space or nuclear technology—have died under mysterious circumstances or disappeared.
These dead—or missing—individuals had another thing in common: they all worked for prestigious and confidential institutions in the country, such as NASA, the War Department, the Department of Energy, the FBI, or top-secret atomic technology laboratories. All of these people therefore had access, directly or indirectly, to critical and confidential information concerning the United States in the fields of space exploration and nuclear technology.
Foreign interference?
This has given rise to numerous conspiracy theories, linked to the activities of the individuals involved, some even suggesting extraterrestrial intervention. Investigators consider this unlikely, focusing on three hypotheses: successive disappearances linked to chance, highly improbable given the connections between the protagonists' professions; an inconclusive internal US operation; and foreign interference.
This is the lead favored by specialists in the case. Defense and nuclear issues are often considered dangerous by other countries, and information can be highly sought after. As for potential masterminds, American police suspicions are focused particularly on China, a major rival of the United States. According to authorities, it is also one of the few powers capable of such operations.
Several similar interventions have already been carried out internationally. Last June, Israel eliminated sixteen leading researchers from the Iranian nuclear program.
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