hiker finds – A hiker found the remains of Melissa Casias, 54, a missing Los Alamos National Laboratory worker, in New Mexico’s Carson National Forest, police say. Her disappearance had become part of a broader federal investigation into 11 scientists and lab-linked employe
The search for a missing Los Alamos National Laboratory worker ended in the harsh quiet of a New Mexico national forest—when a hiker walked into the McGaffey Ridge area of Carson National Forest and discovered human remains.
New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau was informed Thursday that the hiker found Melissa Casias. 54. and that a handgun was found alongside her remains. according to a New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau Facebook post late Saturday night. By Saturday night, police said the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) identified the remains as those of Casias. Authorities also said the cause and manner of death have not yet been determined. and that OMI is conducting further anthropological examination.
Casias was from Taos, New Mexico, and worked at LANL, a nuclear research facility in New Mexico. Her disappearance had drawn attention far beyond Taos, becoming part of speculation and an investigation involving 11 U.S. scientists and lab-linked employees who were reported missing or dead under unclear circumstances—some of which had potential ties to nuclear or missile secrets.
In a release, the New Mexico State Police extended its “deepest condolences to the Casias and Mondragon families during this difficult time.”
Casias had been reported missing June 25. 2025. after she failed to arrive at work and did not return home after visiting her daughter at work. police said. Her family later found that her purse. identification and cellphones had been left behind. prompting concern for her welfare and a missing person investigation. New Mexico authorities also issued a Missing Endangered Advisory; at the time. she was 53 years old and was last seen in the Taos area.
Casias was one of the 11 mysteriously missing or dead individuals that were described as potentially linked to nuclear or missile secrets and were included in FBI and House Oversight investigations. Also identified as having worked at LANL was Anthony Chavez. and both Casias and Chavez were among those marked as suspiciously missing.
The discovery in Carson National Forest closes the search for Casias, police said, but it does not close the broader case—authorities said the investigation into how she died and whose handgun was found beside her remains active and ongoing.
The stakes around the wider set of disappearances and deaths have been front and center in Washington. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. Eric Burlison said they were seeking information from federal agencies in connection with “recent unconfirmed public reporting.” In an April 20 letter to FBI Director Kash Patel. the committee said it was investigating claims alleging people connected to “U.S. nuclear secrets or rocket technology” had died or vanished in recent years.
In that review. the committee said the reported cases included two people connected to LANL. two affiliated with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. an MIT scientist who worked on nuclear fusion. a pharmaceutical researcher. and a government contractor who worked at a nuclear weapons component production facility. The committee said these cases had been described under an alleged pattern that began in 2023.
Authorities have not announced any link between Casias’ death and the other cases, and speculated they were not linked. The House letters also described the reporting under review as unconfirmed.
For now, the human story is clear and urgent: a missing woman’s fate was discovered in the woods. The questions are not. Police have not yet determined the cause and manner of death, and the investigation continues with attention on the handgun found alongside her remains.
Melissa Casias Los Alamos National Laboratory LANL Carson National Forest New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau missing endangered advisory Kash Patel House Oversight Committee James Comer Eric Burlison nuclear secrets drone trafficking NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Office of the Medical Investigator
So sad. Why was she even out there 😞
Handgun found… does that mean suicide? Or did they just dump her in the woods. Seems weird either way. I’m not saying, just asking.
Isn’t LANL the place with all the missile/nuclear stuff? Like I saw something about 11 scientists and now this. I don’t even understand what the “cause and manner” means, but the secret stuff makes it feel darker.
Carson National Forest is huge, so if her purse and phone were left behind that sounds like she didn’t just get lost. Also 11 scientists?? that’s crazy, like how do they connect that to her? I hate when they don’t say what happened right away, and then everybody jumps to conclusions anyway.