Missing LANL Worker’s Body Identified After Year

The remains of Melissa Casias, a 54-year-old administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), have been identified nearly a year after she went missing. A hiker discovered her body on Thursday in the McGaffey Ridge area of Carson National Forest in New Mexico, approximately six miles from where she was last seen.

New Mexico State Police announced the identification over the weekend, noting that a handgun was found alongside the remains. The Office of the Medical Investigator is working to determine the cause and manner of death. The investigation remains active and ongoing.

Casias was reported missing on June 26, 2025, after she failed to arrive at work. Her husband, Mark Casias, also a LANL employee, stated she had dropped him off at the laboratory that morning. Later, she visited her daughter at work in Taos to deliver lunch. After returning to the family home in Ranchos de Taos, Casias left behind her purse, identification, wallet, keys, and cellphones. Authorities and family members confirmed the phones appeared to have been factory reset, erasing their data. Surveillance footage last captured her walking alone on State Road 518 that afternoon.