NASA engineer found dead in burned Tesla after family feared he'd been abducted from his home

The tin foil hat-wearing conspiracy theorists might no longer look like outliers, as another name from the science community has been linked to a growing number of mysterious deaths or disappearances.

We know that the UFO community is full of conspiracies and questions about what could be hidden from the general public, but with the story of NASA nuclear engineer Joshua LeBlanc grabbing headlines, it's only adding to theories about a government cover-up linked to all things space.

We've covered the 10 missing or dead scientists who've been linked to science and UFOs in some way, with the tragic saga being traced back to anti-gravity technology and extraterrestrial life researcher Amy Eskridge's death in June 2022. Eskridge died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, although her death was followed by that of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher Michael David Hicks in July 2023, as a supposed pattern started to emerge.

Following renewed interest in the cases of General William Neil McCasland and Monica Reza, Fox News Digital has reported on the death of Joshua LeBlanc. The NASA nuclear engineer died during a crash in July 2025, and his burned remains were removed from a Tesla in Alabama.

The outlet explains how the 29-year-old's body was found "burned beyond recognition at about 2:45 in the afternoon," coming after the vehicle collided with the guardrail and several trees before bursting into flames.

LaBlanc's family raised suspicions at the time, while the whole story has come back around in the aftermath of these continued disappearances or deaths. The family had reported LeBlanc missing earlier in the day, as it was said he 'uncharacteristically' failed to report for his job as an aerospace technologies electrical engineer at NASA. LeBlanc's work apparently focused on nuclear propulsion projects, which has been used to link him to the other cases.

A LinkedIn page said he'd been working at NASA for around five-and-a-half years, stepping up to lead NASA’s Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP) Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Maturation. On the agency's website, it writes that NASA SNP technology "would enable faster and more robust transportation for crew and cargo missions to Mars and science missions to the outer solar system."

LeBlanc's family told KLFY that they feared he'd been abducted because he'd left his phone and wallet at home.

Authorities were able to use data from his Tesla Sentry Mode, noting that it had sat at an airport in Huntsville for 'hours' on the morning of his death. Again, the family said that this was out of character, especially as the trip wasn't part of his plan for the day.

In 2026, the White House has even spoken out on the missing scientists, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressing the concerns of Fox News' Peter Doocy and confirming: "I’ve seen the report, Peter. I haven’t spoken to our relevant agencies about it. I will certainly do that, and we’ll get you an answer. If true, of course, that’s definitely something I think this government administration would deem work worth looking into. So let me do that for you."

Even President Trump has taken note, telling reporters: "I hope it's random, but we're going to know in the next week and a half. I just left a meeting on that subject."

Including LeBlanc, the total of missing or dead people now sits at least 13, with most connected to nuclear science and space research.

The FBI has vowed to work alongside other federal authorities to look into the above, and a spokesperson told Fox News: "The FBI is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists.

“We are working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and local law enforcement partners to find answers."