NEW MEXICO — President Trump suggested in a podcast interview that there may be a connection behind the disappearance or death of 10 government workers tied to sensitive nuclear or space technology. Social media users have circulated theories about deaths and disappearances over a three-year period involving researchers and other staff with ties to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Investigators involved in the cases have said the deaths and disappearances are due to personal and tragic circumstances rather than a coordinated plot. The Department of Energy, which oversees the two laboratories, is investigating. As of Thursday evening, the FBI was not investigating the cases as part of a suspicious pattern, according to a well-placed government source.

"The FBI is aware and providing all assistance requested," FBI spokesman Ben Williamson said. "Usually what happens is we are not the lead in cases like this unless local authorities request."

A former Department of Energy official said they have seen no evidence of any link between the cases. "People do just die. Strokes, heart disease, suicide, mugging, it happens," the former official said. "If you attach 'nuclear weapons facility' and some sketchy sounding job title, it could conceal how mundane someone's job may be."

Joseph Rodgers, deputy director of the Project on Nuclear Issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said, "The deaths and missing persons cases are scattered across several years at different and only loosely affiliated organizations." He added, "If all of the scientists were working on one project or weapons system, then I'd be more suspicious."

Among the ten cases, one scientist disappeared while hiking in California, five died, and four went missing in New Mexico over the past year. The facilities employ over 20,000 people in combined administrative and support roles without access to classified information. William Neil McCasland, 68, who retired from the Air Force more than 12 years ago, was last seen at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in late February. He left without his phone, wearable devices, or prescription glasses, carrying only a pair of hiking boots, his wallet, and a 38-caliber revolver.

The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office led search and rescue teams deploying drones and K9 units, aided by state and federal agencies. Investigators found a gray U.S. Air Force sweatshirt a mile and a quarter east of his home on March 7. The FBI has been assisting local law enforcement in the search. "Investigators have so far uncovered no evidence of foul play," an official in Bernalillo County said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

Albuquerque area officials are also searching for 48-year-old Steven Garcia, who disappeared last August and worked as a property custodian for the National Nuclear Security Administration's Kansas City National Security Campus in Albuquerque. Local police north of Albuquerque have been investigating the disappearances of two employees at Los Alamos National Laboratory, including Melissa Casias, 53, an administrative assistant who did not have high-level security clearance and was last seen walking alone on a highway wearing a backpack.