Remains of missing scientist found in national forest one year after she went missing
Nearly a year after she disappeared without explanation, the family of Melissa Casias finally have an answer: though far from the one they were hoping for.
Casias, 53, was an administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. She went missing on June 26, 2025.
That day she failed to show up for work, and when her daughter Sierra came home she discovered her mother's keys, wallet, and both her work and personal phones, wiped of all data, inside the house.
The family found her car parked outside the house, with the house fully locked up.
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On May 28, a hiker discovered a body in the McGaffey Ridge area of Carson National Forest, with the Office of the Medical Investigator positively identifying the remains as Casias'.
The cause and manner of her death have not yet been determined, and the remains are set to undergo further anthropological examination.
Police said a handgun was found "alongside the remains."
Her family confirmed the news in a statement posted to a dedicated Facebook page by Casias' niece, Jazmin McMillen: "We confirm that the remains found in Rio Chiquito are Melissa. There will be more information to come but what we can tell you now is she was located in an area previously searched. This is a lot to process, our hearts are heavy and we fully intend to continue to pursue answers for justice."
Who was Melissa Casias?
Described by her family on a GoFundMe page as "a beautiful, wonderful person" and "an amazing daughter, sister, wife and mother," Casias had worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory since March 2023. Before that she had worked as an executive administrative assistant at New Mexico Highlands University. She is survived by her husband Mark, who also worked at the laboratory, and daughter Sierra.
Friends and family knew her as someone with a deep love of the outdoors, and she received a hunting guide licence from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish in 2021.
On the day she disappeared, Mark told investigators his wife had dropped him off at the lab and told him she was heading to another part of the facility to complete a work task.
Where was Melissa Casias found?
Her remains were discovered approximately six miles from the family home in Ranchos de Taos, accessible via Forest Road 437, a single lane dirt road off State Road 518 in Talpa, where security camera footage captured the last known sighting of Casias on the day she went missing.
The road extends deep into Carson National Forest, a vast 1.5 million acre expanse spanning four Northern New Mexico counties, and provides access to the Garcia Park recreation area and several trails.
State police have not specified publicly the exact location within that area where her remains were found.
Her case had drawn significant national attention, including a feature on the Crime Junkie podcast, as part of a wider pattern of deaths and disappearances involving US scientists and government employees with access to sensitive information, sparking widespread speculation about whether those with knowledge of classified projects were being targeted. An investigation into the circumstances of her disappearance and death remains ongoing.
Thomas Bamford