New Mexico authorities identified human remains discovered in Carson National Forest on May 28 as those of Melissa Casias, an administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory who was reported missing nearly a year ago. New Mexico State Police said the Office of the Medical Investigator positively identified the remains. A handgun was found nearby. The cause and manner of death have not been established.
Casias, 53, was reported missing on June 26, 2025, after she failed to arrive at work or return home following a visit with her daughter, police said. Her family later discovered that her personal belongings, including her purse, identification, and cell phones, had been left behind, prompting a missing person investigation. A hiker alerted authorities to the remains on May 28.
Her family said in a statement on Facebook that she was found in an area that had been previously searched. “This is a lot to process, our hearts are heavy and we fully intend to continue to pursue answers for justice,” the statement said.
Before her disappearance, Casias worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where leading defensive nuclear research is conducted and where the world’s first atomic weapons were developed during World War II. Her case became prominent in a growing online conspiracy theory about the deaths and disappearances of at least 10 people with ties to US scientific research. The theory suggested the cases were linked to their work.
The conspiracy theory grouped together several people described as “missing scientists,” including a retired Air Force general, an engineer, and a custodian. They worked in a range of fields, from pharmaceutical to space research, and included an MIT physics professor whose murder by a former classmate was widely reported by national and international media.
Public interest in the cases reached a level that prompted the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee and the FBI to announce investigations. US President Donald Trump also weighed in, calling the disappearances and deaths “pretty serious stuff.”
Family members have tried to dispel the conspiracy theories with details about individual cases. One researcher died of heart disease. Another died in an apparent suicide after his wife said he was distraught when both of his parents died suddenly within hours of each other. In the case of Carl Grillmair, a neighbor is facing murder and burglary charges.
“I think it’s absolute nonsense,” Louise Grillmair, Carl Grillmair’s widow, previously told the BBC when asked about the speculation. “I mean, there’s the facts, and they’re out there.” Relatives of others named in the conspiracy theories said the rumors were “disgusting” and compounded families’ grief.