New Mexico identifies remains of nuclear lab employee missing for a year

Remains of Los Alamos employee Melissa Casias found alongside handgun in case that stirred online speculation

Authorities in New Mexico have identified human remains which they recently discovered as those of a Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) employee who had been missing for more than a year.

In a statement released over the weekend, state police said the remains belonged to Melissa Casias, a 53-year-old resident of Taos, New Mexico, who was last seen walking eastbound along a state highway on 26 June 2025.