Monica Reza: The NASA JPL Engineer Who Vanished in Seconds While Hiking with Friends in Angeles National Forest

On the morning of June 22, 2025, 60-year-old Monica Jacinto Reza, Director of Materials Processing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and co-inventor of the high-performance Mondaloy nickel-based superalloy used in advanced rocket engines, set out on a hike near Mount Waterman in California’s Angeles National Forest with companions from her yoga group. She was last seen around 9:10 a.m., smiling and waving as the group descended the Upper West Ridge trail. Moments later, when a friend turned around, Reza had disappeared—vanishing in an instant with no cry, no struggle, and almost no trace.

Extensive searches by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department teams, drones, K9 units, and volunteers yielded only one piece of evidence: a bright red beanie matching the one tucked into her belt, discovered hundreds of feet off-trail in a shallow gulch. Her red long-sleeve shirt, green hiking pants, and shoes were never found. The terrain was searched repeatedly; scent dogs lost the trail abruptly. No body, no phone, no further clues have surfaced in nearly a year.

Reza’s background adds urgency. A longtime Technical Fellow at Aerojet Rocketdyne before moving to JPL, she held patents critical to U.S. propulsion technology and had worked on programs linked to Air Force research overseen by figures like the also-missing retired Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland. Her disappearance is now one of at least 11 cases under FBI and congressional scrutiny in 2026.

A geo-profiler cited in Los Angeles Magazine has suggested possible “staged” elements, while online discussions speculate about foul play, foreign actors, or voluntary disappearance. Official reports treat it as an at-risk missing-person case with no confirmed foul play.

As of June 2026, Monica Reza remains missing. Her family continues to push for answers, noting the lack of direct federal contact despite the broader probe. The Angeles National Forest still guards its secrets—one more scientist who stepped off the trail and into the unknown.