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NASA nuclear engineer found dead in burned Tesla after vanishing from his Alabama home last year
Fox News ^ | 4/22/26 | Peter D'Abrosca

Posted on 04/22/2026 2:10:24 PM PDT by Libloather

A NASA nuclear scientist died after a fiery crash in a rural Alabama town last year, which at the time caused suspicion among family members.

Joshua LeBlanc, 29, died in a fiery crash in his Tesla on July 22, 2025. The crash happened in Huntsville, Alabama where his Tesla was found burned beyond recognition at about 2:45 in the afternoon, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency told Fox News Digital. The vehicle collided with a guardrail, then several trees, before the vehicle burst into flames.

At 4:32 a.m. on the same day, LeBlanc's family reported him missing, according to KLFY. He uncharacteristically failed to show up to his job as an aerospace technologies electrical engineer at NASA, where he worked on nuclear propulsion projects.

His body was also burned beyond recognition, and police confirmed his identity three days later after his body was transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

At the time, his family told KLFY that they feared he had been abducted and that he had left his phone and wallet in his home at the time of the disappearance.

Police tracked LeBlanc down using the data from his Tesla Sentry Mode, and found that his vehicle sat at the airport in Huntsville for four hours on the morning of his death. His family said his trip west was not part of his plan for the day, and that uncharacteristically, he was not communicating with them.

A LinkedIn page for LeBlanc says he worked at NASA for about five-and-a-half years, and that he was a team lead for NASA’s Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP) Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Maturation. 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," according to the government agency's...

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: History; Local News; Outdoors; Travel
KEYWORDS: alabama; curioserandcurioser; engineer; nasa; tesla

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To: BobL

You’re a moron


21 posted on 04/22/2026 3:43:01 PM PDT by Dartoid
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To: BobL
If it was the “right car” we wouldn’t have this thread.

The car had nothing to do with it. It was likely a 29-year-old driving a fast car like an idiot.

22 posted on 04/22/2026 4:46:27 PM PDT by eastexsteve
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To: citizen

My 2019 Santa Fe has those same driving features. They are great. I trust them...


I agree, they are great, but my trust in them keeps my hand on the wheel and my foot near the brake pedal.

When we took our first road trip in our then-new car, I thought there was something wrong when I felt the steering wheel pull to the left as the interstate was turning left.

It seems to me that they’ve solved the easiest 80% of having a self-driving car but I get the impression that the remaining 20% is going to be very tough to make ‘fool proof’.


23 posted on 04/22/2026 4:48:43 PM PDT by hanamizu
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To: null and void; aragorn; EnigmaticAnomaly; kalee; Kale; AZ .44 MAG; Baynative; bgill; bitt; ...

p


24 posted on 04/22/2026 5:02:31 PM PDT by bitt (<IMG SRC=' 'WIDTH=500>)
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To: ClearCase_guy
The 1 named are :

The 11 individuals reported as missing or dead are:

Amy Eskridge
Michael David Hicks
Frank Maiwald
Anthony Chavez
Melissa Casias
Monica Reza
Steven Garcia
Nuno Loureiro
Carl Grillmair
Jason Thomas
Retired Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland

Since the link to Fox News talks about the other 11, I would guess that this guy is being added as the 12, oor at least being mentioned as the possible 12 th one. There is no real evidence that supports that this consiracy, is linked at all.

But it still is a strange anomoly aspect to this story, nonetheless.

25 posted on 04/22/2026 5:21:20 PM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: Libloather

EV’s kill our scientists!


26 posted on 04/22/2026 5:49:12 PM PDT by Revel
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To: Libloather

Huntsville,...a rural town?


27 posted on 04/22/2026 6:31:08 PM PDT by Farmerbob
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To: Libloather

Could a Tesla fire be deliberately set to cover up a crime?


28 posted on 04/22/2026 6:51:21 PM PDT by californian by choice (Who are those who believe in science?)
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To: hanamizu

I must hold the wheel tho not necessarily guide it.


29 posted on 04/22/2026 7:06:12 PM PDT by citizen (A transgender male competing against women may be male, but he's no man.)
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To: Farmerbob

Hunts is far beyond a rural town. Largest city in Alabama and booming all over.


30 posted on 04/22/2026 7:07:31 PM PDT by citizen (A transgender male competing against women may be male, but he's no man.)
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To: Farmerbob

grrrr Huntsville


31 posted on 04/22/2026 7:08:22 PM PDT by citizen (A transgender male competing against women may be male, but he's no man.)
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To: Libloather

My theory: He spent four hours with a side squeeze while the car was at the airport, was running late and driving too fast toward home/work, and bang. Left phone at home so mama couldn’t track, and wallet so he could lie about who he was if questioned.


32 posted on 04/22/2026 8:59:45 PM PDT by umbagi (Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it. [Twain])
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To: deks

12 in four years, out of how many thousands of scientists and engineers?


33 posted on 04/23/2026 12:33:21 AM PDT by rxh4n1
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To: Blue Highway

*”So his car sat at the Huntsville airport for 4 hours, but he didn’t get on a plane?”*

“The airport has 12 gates with restrooms, shops, restaurants, phones and murals depicting aviation and space exploration scenes. The airport also has a 3-star hotel on the premises.[8]”

Maybe the kid scored or he had a liquid lunch, or both. More likely than any sinister cause. That certain EV freak has been repeatedly telling us what land rockets Teslas are. Maybe the kid was sloshed and the car got away from him. Need some security camera reviews and such.


34 posted on 04/23/2026 12:42:38 AM PDT by rxh4n1
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To: umbagi

My theory: He spent four hours with a side squeeze while the car was at the airport, was running late and driving too fast toward home/work, and bang. Left phone at home so mama couldn’t track, and wallet so he could lie about who he was if questioned.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I approve of this message.


35 posted on 04/23/2026 3:44:12 AM PDT by Candor7 ( Ask not for whom the Trump Trolls,He trolls for thee!<img src="" width=300</img><a href="">tag</a>))
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To: Candor7

Let me think ... you’re an “ID Addict”? LOL!

(You’re probably right about all of it!)


36 posted on 04/23/2026 3:47:18 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam ( "Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away". - B. Franklin)
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To: MayflowerMadam

I hardly am ever right about anything, but I do know how beauty can turn a young head, LOL.

Strange goings on in the shire-land. Sounds like something out of Tolkien.

If you are a former NASA scientist, I bet its expensive now to buy life insurance !


37 posted on 04/23/2026 4:58:11 AM PDT by Candor7 ( Ask not for whom the Trump Trolls,He trolls for thee!<img src="" width=300</img><a href="">tag</a>))
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To: Libloather

what if this isn’t a new phenomenon?

how many have been related that have died to car accidents, heart attacks, fires, etc?

what if we’re noticing because whoever is doing it is getting nervous and sloppy?


38 posted on 04/23/2026 6:11:14 AM PDT by sten (fighting tyranny never goes out of style)
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To: Libloather

Isn’t Huntsville supposed to be a spy / spy-tech oriented town?


39 posted on 04/23/2026 6:12:31 AM PDT by sten (fighting tyranny never goes out of style)
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To: sten
Isn’t Huntsville supposed to be a spy / spy-tech oriented town?

Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville houses NASA facilities, the Space Command, and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command. There are also numerous hi tech companies in the area that support these organizations.

40 posted on 04/23/2026 6:28:08 AM PDT by GreenHornet
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