US3 min(s) read
Published 10:59 06 Jun 2026 GMT
Last week, human remains belonging to scientist Melissa Casias, a Los Alamos National Laboratory employee who had been missing for nearly a year, were found in a New Mexico national forest.
Eerily, a weapon was found alongside the remains uncovered in the McGaffey Ridge area of Carson National Forest, with the New Mexico Medical Investigator's Office since confirming the body belongs to Casias, 53.
On Saturday, New Mexico State Police said in a statemen: "A handgun was located alongside the remains."
The department added that the Medical Investigator's Office will likely determine the cause of death.
Casias' husband, Mark, revealed in an interview last year that he reported his wife as missing on June 26, after her supervisor contacted him when she failed to turn up to work.
According to the Express US, Casias was spotted walking along a highway approximately six miles from where her remains were eventually located on the day she was reported missing.
Reports from the time state that she had driven her husband to Los Alamos National Laboratory, a federal energy research facility, where they both worked, and told him she had to complete a task in another area of the lab. However, she never returned from the assignment.
Shortly after she went missing, the couple’s daughter, Sierra, found her mom’s possessions in an unusual state at the family home.
She discovered her missing mom’s cellphone had been wiped to factory settings, and she had left her keys behind.
Just hours later, a family friend spotted Casias walking eastbound on State Road 518, according to State Police Sgt. Ricardo Breceda.
In the months after Casias’s disappearance, her husband, Mark, reviewed documents that suggested his wife was experiencing significant stress at that time.
However, he declined to provide additional information about what was causing the stress, or could have prompted her to go missing
In a statement, New Mexico State Police said: "The New Mexico State Police extend their deepest condolences to the Casias and Mondragon families during this difficult time."
When she first vanished, police did not eliminate the possibility of foul play. Police Sgt. Ricardo Breceda stated last year that it "may be the case" that she had left voluntarily.
Cops also confirmed that the case is still active.
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