Energy weapon could be behind missing, dead scientists: Former FBI agent (original) (raw)

Updated: Jun 15, 2026 / 02:55 PM CDT

(NewsNation) — As interest has risen in possible connections between several missing or dead scientists, a former FBI agent told NewsNation that unconventional explanations can’t be ruled out.

The remains of Melissa Casias, a former staffer at Los Alamos National Laboratory, were found in the woods and described as skeletal.

Casias was reported missing nearly a year ago, with her phones having been reset and left behind. The cause and manner of her death have not yet been determined, but her family has questioned whether the scene was staged.

Former FBI agent Ben Hansen told NewsNation’s Brian Entin about the case.

“The evidence, it looks like at least what they’re willing to share with us, is very weird,” Hansen said of the investigation into Casias’ death. “You know the official kind of statements that they say her body was skeletonized, it’s been not quite a year.”

Hansen questioned the way that Casias’ cell phones had been reset to factory settings.

“That is not normal. Nobody does that unless you’re trying to hide something or hide being found or tracked,” he said.

One theory that has been floated regarding the missing and dead scientists has to do with speculation that they may have had connections to UFO research.

In the case of retired Air Force Major General William McCasland, Hansen said he didn’t think direct UFO involvement was likely.

“Well, there haven’t been any UFO sightings, you know, around here recently. So I don’t think he was taking a board or something like that,” he said.

However, Hansen noted that the language McCasland’s wife used when reporting him missing was of note, suggesting that she may have reason to believe her husband had been sent on a secret assignment for the government and was not able to contact his family.

“It might be indicative of somebody who knew, I was warned he was gonna leave, and I have a script, and I have to do what is expected of me,” he said. “Which is to call the police to report him missing. But in the back of my mind, I know he’s okay. He’s just off on assignment.”

Hansen also raised a theory circulating that the cases could be the work of some sort of weapon, similar to the idea of a directed energy weapon that has been blamed for Havana syndrome.

“If that is possible, is it possible that foreign adversaries are targeting US military or contractors and employees for some other news sort of a weapon of some sort?” he said.

He went on to suggest that such a weapon could potentially be used to put people into a depression or induce paranoia.

“Because this is so out of character for so many of these people,” Hansen said. “McCasland was acting anxious the night before; he was not himself. Cassius not that case. They said she appeared normal, you know. But it’s not normal to wipe your phone.”

Although such a weapon may sound like a conspiracy theory, Hansen noted that certain frequencies can influence people’s perceptions.

“Infrasound below our normal thresholds is well established that it can give you feelings of paranoia, being watched, anxiety, fear. You can induce that in people,” Hansen said. “It was rumored, in the Venezuelan extraction, it was rumored that we had used such a thing to get into the compound.”

Hansen also noted that adversaries could influence people through threats or promises, speculating that those missing could have been told they were going to meet with someone and been under the impression they would return home.