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The mystery surrounding the disappearance of a rocket scientist has deepened, revealing intriguing connections to a unique patent linked to sophisticated U.S. launch systems.
Monica Jacinto Reza, a 60-year-old aerospace expert, vanished on June 22 of last year while hiking in the San Gabriel Wilderness area within the Angeles National Forest. She was last observed at approximately 9:10 a.m. local time.
Reports from the forum EISPIRATEN tell of a man who was hiking roughly 30 feet ahead of Reza on the trail leading to Waterman Mountain’s summit. He turned back only to find that she had mysteriously disappeared without a trace.
Fellow hikers note that Reza was equipped with a backpack, which is thought to have contained several liters of water, at the time of her disappearance.
The investigation has taken on new significance as public records shed light on Reza’s involvement in developing cutting-edge aerospace materials associated with high-performance propulsion systems. This revelation raises questions about whether her professional work could be linked to her sudden disappearance.
Records show she is the only surviving co-creator of a 2010 patent filed 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.
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 last year
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
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.
Mondaloy was later used in the development of the AR1 rocket engine, a US-built system designed to replace Russian-made RD-180 engines previously used on United Launch Alliance rockets, part of a broader effort to reduce America’s reliance on foreign propulsion systems.
Unlike older materials that were either strong but prone to burning or burn-resistant but weak, the alloy created by Reza and her colleague was designed to do both – remain durable while resisting ignition under extreme stress.
The metal is primarily made of nickel, strengthened with smaller amounts of cobalt, chromium, aluminum and titanium, allowing it to withstand the intense heat and pressure produced during rocket launches.
According to the patent, the material was intended for use in critical engine components such as turbines, ducts and fuel systems, where failure could lead to catastrophic damage.
Materials like Mondaloy are used in rocket engines that power launches carrying military satellites, missile-warning systems and other highly sensitive payloads into orbit, missions known as national security launches because they support US defense and intelligence systems.
Reza’s work received funding and development support from the US Air Force Research Laboratory, which was commanded at one point by retired US Major General William Neil McCasland.
McCasland later went missing in June 2025, prompting a separate investigation that remains ongoing.
According to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, McCasland was last seen speaking with a repairman at his home around 10am before his wife left the residence about an hour later.
Reza’s technology helped create the AR1 engine, set to replace Russian RD-180 engines on United Launch Alliance rockets
US Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland, 68, who was in the UFO community, went missing in February after leaving on a hike near his New Mexico home
When she returned shortly after noon, the house was empty, with his phone, prescription glasses and wearable devices left behind.
Investigators noted that his hiking boots and a .38-caliber revolver were missing and he was reported missing later that afternoon.
Search teams later discovered a US Air Force sweatshirt roughly one mile from the residence, though officials have not confirmed whether it belonged to McCasland.
Authorities have not publicly confirmed foul play in the case, and the investigation remains active.
Another mysterious case involves Michael David Hicks, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who died on July 30, 2023, at the age of 59. Officials have not publicly alleged foul play in his death.
Reports also highlighted the death of NASA scientist Frank Maiwald, who died on July 4, 2024, in Los Angeles at the age of 61. Authorities confirmed that no autopsy was performed and the cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.
Michael David Hicks was a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory prior to his death in 2023
Frank Maiwald (left) and Carl Grillmair had deep ties to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in California before both men died within the last two years
Maiwald had worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 1999 and contributed to projects involving advanced satellite technology capable of scanning Earth and other planetary bodies.
Anthony Chavez, a former employee at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), disappeared on May 4, 2025. Police in Los Alamos said the search for Chavez, 79, remains ongoing with no new information released nearly a year later.
Since 2024, several additional scientists connected to aerospace research have died under separate circumstances.
Melissa Casias worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a long-running nuclear research facility, before disappearing on June 26 last year
Anthony Chavez was an employee at the Los Alamos National Laboratory until 2017. He disappeared without a trace in May last year
Jason Thomas was found dead after being pulled from a Massachusetts lake on March 17. He had been missing since December 12
Melissa Casias has not been seen since June 26 last year, when her family said she uncharacteristically decided to work from home, but was last spotted miles from their house walking alone without her wallet, phone or keys.
Casias, 54, was an administrative assistant at LANL.
The news came about astrophysicist Carl Grillmair, 67, who was shot and killed at his California home on February 16.Â
The California Institute of Technology researcher had worked on major NASA-supported telescope missions, including the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and NEO Surveyor programs.
Those projects used infrared detection systems capable of tracking asteroids, technology that shares similarities with systems used to monitor satellites and hypersonic missiles.
Nuno Loureiro was leading efforts to create fusion energy, a form of clean energy that could upend the multi-trillion-dollar fossil fuel energy industry
While serving as commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, McCasland oversaw programs related to space surveillance and infrared tracking systems.
Two additional researchers in Massachusetts were also found dead in separate incidents. Nuno Loureiro, a scientist working on nuclear fusion research, was shot in his Brookline home last year.
Jason Thomas, a pharmaceutical researcher studying cancer treatments at Novartis, was later found dead in a Wakefield lake on March 17 after disappearing months earlier.
Authorities have not publicly linked the cases, and officials in several investigations have said there is no confirmed evidence suggesting foul play beyond the circumstances already reported.