A retired Los Alamos National Laboratory employee who vanished without a trace last year was working on high-level quantum research that explored the possibility of being “in two places at once,” according to a newly obtained police report.
Anthony Chavez, 78, disappeared from his home in Los Alamos, New Mexico, on May 4, 2025, leaving behind his newly purchased car, keys, wallet, identification, and cigarettes. More than a year later, investigators still have no answers.
Now, a police report obtained by journalist Lauren Conlin has revealed that a friend told investigators Chavez had been collaborating with an unnamed Los Alamos scientist on a “teleportation” project involving the concept of being “in two places at once.”
Chavez is the latest in a series of leading scientists whose disappearances have fueled speculation, particularly because they were associated with cutting-edge and classified government research.
The police report into Chavez’s disappearance has fueled speculation because it reveals he was working in the developing field of quantum teleportation—a legitimate area of physics research focused on transferring quantum information between particles, not transporting people.
Vanished Without a Trace
According to investigators, Chavez walked away from his home without taking his vehicle, keys, wallet, identification, or cellphone. His cigarettes were also left behind, despite friends describing him as a regular smoker.
During a NewsNation interview with Jesse Weber, Conlin said Chavez had purchased a silver Acura shortly before he disappeared.
Police found the vehicle parked in his driveway.
Authorities noted that Chavez enjoyed hiking but said he was not dressed for an extended outing and carried none of the equipment someone would normally take into the mountains.
No confirmed sightings have been reported since his disappearance.
Questions Remain
Los Alamos National Laboratory has long conducted some of the nation’s most sensitive scientific and national security research, making any unexplained disappearance connected to the facility a subject of intense public interest.
Investigators have not announced any evidence linking Chavez’s disappearance to classified research, quantum technology, or criminal activity.
For now, the case remains an unsolved missing-person investigation.
But the newly disclosed witness statement has added another unanswered question to a mystery that continues to generate speculation about what, if anything, Chavez may have been working on before he disappeared.