A hiker found a body in a New Mexico forest, and after nearly a year the family of a missing Los Alamos lab worker learned it was her

Human remains discovered in the McGaffrey Ridge area of Carson National Forest have been identified as Melissa Casias, a Los Alamos National Laboratory employee who had been missing for nearly a year. As reported by VT, the identification was confirmed by the New Mexico Medical Investigator’s Office following the discovery of the remains on May 28, 2026. The 53-year-old had vanished on June 26, 2025, setting off a months-long search that ended in somber circumstances.

Alongside the remains, authorities located a handgun. The Medical Investigator’s Office is still working to determine the final cause and manner of death, and the investigation remains open.

In a statement shared on social media, the family confirmed the identification and noted that Casias was found in an area that had already been searched. “This is a lot to process, our hearts are heavy and we fully intend to continue to pursue answers for justice,” the statement read.

The discovery comes nearly a year after a baffling disappearance

Casias was last seen on the morning of June 26, 2025, when her husband, Mark Casias, dropped her off at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She told him she was heading to another area of the federal energy research facility for a work task but never reported for work that day, prompting her supervisor to alert authorities.

Her daughter, Sierra, later found her mother’s keys and phones at the family home in Ranchos de Taos, one of which had been reset to factory settings. An acquaintance also reported seeing Casias walking eastbound on State Road 518 that afternoon, a highway that provides access to the McGaffrey Ridge area. The site where her remains were found is roughly six miles from her home, and officials have noted it falls within an area previously covered during the search.

Mark Casias previously said his wife had been under significant stress at the time of her disappearance, though he did not elaborate on the specific nature of that pressure. The FBI has been investigating the deaths and disappearances of scientists with ties to U.S. nuclear and defense programs, working alongside the Department of Energy and state and local law enforcement. Investigators have not ruled out foul play in Casias’s case, including the possibility that she entered another vehicle on the day she went missing, though officials have also acknowledged that she may have disappeared by choice.

The case has attracted attention in part because it falls within a broader pattern that has drawn federal scrutiny, with a former FBI agent calling for psychological autopsies to better understand the circumstances surrounding deaths and disappearances of government-linked researchers. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee announced in late April that it would also launch its own investigation into whether these cases share a common thread.

Casias had worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory since March 2023. Her family remembered her as “a beautiful, wonderful person” and “an amazing daughter, sister, wife and mother.” New Mexico State Police have expressed their condolences and confirmed further updates are expected as the medical investigation concludes.