Missing scientist ‘working on secret teleportation project’ before he vanished

An American nuclear scientist who went missing without a trace was working on a complex project involving the idea that particles can exist in two places at once

A missing scientist who worked at one of America’s most secretive nuclear laboratories was allegedly involved in a bizarre quantum physics project before he vanished without a trace.

Newly obtained police records appear to reveal that Anthony Chavez, 78, had been working with an unidentified scientist on research involving “matter existing in two places simultaneously” before his disappearance in May 2025.

According to Los Angeles Magazine, the project was allegedly linked to quantum physics and the pair were believed to have been carrying out research at the local public library. Police did not identify the scientist or provide evidence showing how far the work had progressed.

Chavez, a retired HVAC technician at Los Alamos National Laboratory, was reported missing after an old friend became concerned when they were unable to contact him for several days. Officers went to his home on May 8, where they found his recently purchased silver Acura parked in the driveway.

Inside the locked house, investigators discovered his wallet, cigarettes, bicycle, car keys and a handwritten journal. Police noted at the time there were no obvious signs of foul play.

According to the police report obtained by Los Angeles Magazine, Chavez did not own a mobile phone and instead relied on a home landline while keeping detailed handwritten journals. Detectives recovered one of those journals but did not reveal what it contained.

The magazine reports police followed numerous leads, including searches of nearby canyon areas, checks of hospitals, interviews with Chavez’s doctor and reports that he may have boarded a flight from Santa Fe to Dallas. None resulted in Chavez being found.

The police report also states Chavez’s longtime friend believed the disappearance should be investigated as a homicide, claiming a “pushy man” had been pressuring Chavez to sell his sister’s home below market value while he was trying to pay for her assisted living care.

Despite searches involving cadaver dogs, multiple interviews and comparisons with unidentified human remains in other states, detectives found no evidence explaining Chavez’s disappearance.

On October 6, 2025, Los Alamos Police closed the investigation as inactive, citing “no new information, witnesses, or evidence” relating to Chavez’s disappearance.

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