The “skeletonized” remains of a missing nuclear scientist, who vanished nearly a year ago, has just been found in a remote New Mexico national forest. Her remains tell a disturbing story.
A hiker discovered the body of Melissa Casias, 54, in the McGaffey Ridge area of Carson National Forest. New Mexico State Police confirmed the identification and said a handgun was found alongside the remains. The cause and manner of death have not officially been announced.
What police have not said, a private investigator hired by Casias’ family has.
Thomas McNally, a former homicide detective hired by Casias’ parents to investigate the disappearance, told The Daily Mail that her body was fully “skeletonized,” propped upright against a tree, dressed in sun-bleached clothing, with a gunshot wound to the skull.
McNally said the remains showed no signs of animal disturbance despite nearly a year of exposure in the woods. He firmly believes foul play was involved in her death, and said her family is preparing to file a civil lawsuit against the New Mexico State Police for allegedly mishandling the case.
Casias’ family confirmed the findings in a statement.
“We confirm that the remains found in Rio Chiquito are Melissa,” the family wrote. “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.”
The circumstances of Casias’ disappearance were strange from the start. On the morning of June 26, 2025, Casias dropped her husband Mark off at the nuclear facility they both worked. She told her husband she had forgotten her badge and needed to return home. She left her purse, identification, and both phones behind. One of the phones had been factory-reset.
That afternoon she was seen walking alone on State Road 518, about three miles from the family home. She was never seen alive again.
McNally told The Daily Mail that Casias and her husband had argued during the commute. Mark Casias told investigators his wife had been “running around with a boyfriend somewhere.” But McNally said he believed she was “fleeing somebody.”
Casias is now part of a grim and growing roster of missing nuclear scientists and experts around the country. Fox News has identified 11 people with ties to U.S. nuclear secrets or defense research who have recently died or gone missing under mysterious circumstances. The House Oversight Committee has opened a formal investigation into the disturbing trend.
The highest-profile missing person in the group is retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, who vanished February 27 from his Albuquerque home. McCasland had deep knowledge of classified nuclear research and UFO-related Pentagon files and once headed the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Anthony Chavez, 79, a retired Los Alamos employee who vanished without a trace on May 4, 2025 — just seven weeks before Casias — is also missing.
Authorities are also searching for Monica Reza, 60, a NASA aerospace engineer who disappeared while hiking in the Angeles National Forest in California in June 2025.
Authorities have not established any official link between the cases.
Remains of missing nuclear scientist Melissa Casias, who worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, have been found in New Mexico, nearly 11 months after she disappeared.
“When Casias vanished nearly a year ago, her family discovered that her personal belongings, including… pic.twitter.com/ZqkSf3tjjX
— Ben Swann (@BenSwann_) June 2, 2026