Sucked into another dimension? Rumours swirl physicist vanished while working on science of 'being in two places at once'

A bizarre theory has surrounded the disappearance of a scientist who worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Anthony Chavez, a retired HVAC technician, was reportedly working on quantum physics experiments and went missing in May 2025. Quantum physics relates to "matter existing in two places simultaneously," and there is now speculation that he could have been sucked into sucked into a parallel dimension after something likely went wrong with the experiment. The 78-year-old is one of several scientists in the United States to have vanished under mysterious circumstances.

NewsNation reported investigative journalist Lauren Conlin as saying that Chavez “specifically” worked on quantum physics, a branch of science that investigates “being in two places at once.” Even though there is no evidence that a failed experiment led to him ending up in another dimension, netizens seem to have picked up on the angle following Conlin's statements. Quantum superposition, a principle in which a physical system can exist in multiple possible states simultaneously, is still poorly understood by scientists. It is still working with only basic units of quantum information known as qubits. Hence, the claims and speculation that Chavez could have ended up in another dimension after travelling through a wormhole sound absurd.

Chavez disappeared a month before Los Alamos administrative assistant Melissa Casias was reported missing. Her body was found in the McGaffey Ridge area of the Carson National Forest, New Mexico, with a handgun next to her. Both scientists were reportedly working with the US nuclear secrets or rocket technology. However, there is no clarity over whether Casias and Chavez knew each other.

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Missing scientists in America

Several scientists tied to nuclear and space programs have either died or gone missing in the US in the last few years. Theories flagging that something was fishy started emerging after retired Air Force Research Laboratory commander William Neil McCasland went missing from his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home on February 28. He took only a handgun and left without his keys, glasses and phone. Journalist Ross Coulthart was the first to talk about it, calling the disappearance "a grave national security crisis".

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Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett was next to describe it as "a major national security issue". NASA aerospace engineer Monica Jacinto Reza also went missing while hiking and reportedly worked with McCasland on special metals for missiles and rocket technology. McCasland is also believed to have ties with secret UFO programs at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

Scientists who were found dead or murdered

Other scientists who have died include Physicist Nuno Loureiro, astrophysicist Carl Grillmair and assistant director of chemical biology at Novartis, Jason Thomas. Loureiro was murdered outside his Boston suburban house on December 15, 2025, by his former classmate, Claudio Neves Valente, from Portugal. He was working on plasma physics and was reportedly close to revolutionising the energy sector with a clean power source. Grillmair was murdered on February 16, 2026, and was linked to a project where water was discovered on an exoplanet.