Remains of Los Alamos National Laboratories employee found in national forest nearly a year after she disappeared
06/04/2026 1:00 pm PDT
TAOS, N.M. (TCN) -- A hiker in the Carson National Forest found the remains of a woman reported missing in June 2025.
On May 30, the New Mexico State Police announced that the remains of Melissa Casias, 53, were positively identified. Her cause and manner of death have not been determined by the Office of the Medical Examiner yet, but a handgun was found next to the body. Casias had been reported missing by her family on June 26, 2025.
The Hill reports that Casias worked for the federal government at the Los Alamos National Laboratories as an administrative assistant. Her family said she worked from home on June 26, 2025, after reportedly forgetting her work badge.
Later in the day, she left home to bring her daughter lunch, and this was confirmed via home surveillance footage. Her family became concerned when they learned she had left her personal belongings, such as her work and personal phones, keys, and purse. According to The Hill, Casias was spotted walking along a highway in the area, and that was captured on doorbell footage as well.
NBC News reported that on the day that Casias went missing, her daughter found her personal phone had undergone a factory reset. She was also reportedly under a significant amount of personal stress. CNN reports that at the time of her disappearance, foul play was not suspected.
Los Alamos National Laboratories is a research facility with high security measures famous for being the location where the atomic bomb was developed, according to AOL. In addition to Casias, nine other employees or scientists in the U.S. connected to classified research through their work have gone missing or were found dead.
In the wake of these deaths, an online conspiracy theory posits that they are connected to their classified work, the BBC reports. Others who have died include a retired general from the United States Air Force, an engineer, and a physics professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Family members have tried to quash these theories by stating facts about their deaths.
The investigation is ongoing.
