Skeletal remains of Los Alamos missing scientist lead to possibility of murder or suicide: sources

The skeletal remains of a missing Los Alamos lab worker, recently discovered in New Mexico, have only deepened the mystery surrounding her disappearance.Melissa Casias, 53, walked out of her home near Taos on June 26, 2025, and remained missing until the grim discovery of her body by a hiker on May 28.Her case has been associated with the curious spate of 11 missing scientists across the US.Casias’ body was discovered skeletonized, with her sunbaked remains propped against a tree alongside a handgun in Kit Carson National Forest.New Mexico State Police told The Post her skull had been fractured, but a CT scan did not reveal any projectiles in the skull.Investigators are awaiting further autopsy results to determine the manner of death, according to spokesperson Sgt.

Ricardo Breceda. The two most likely options are now suicide or murder.“If that gun isn’t rusted shut, then I call bulls—t,” said firebrand private investigator Thomas McNally, implying that if foul play was involved the scene could have been staged to resemble a suicide.According to local news reports, Casias’ clothes were sun-bleached but her corpse appeared undisturbed by predation by forest creatures, but this has not been confirmed by police.McNally, a former homicide detective and Phoenix-based private investigator hired by members of Casias’ birth family claims the investigation into her disappearance was bungled from the start.“The State Police did not launch any type of search and rescue effort at all.

Melissa’s niece, Jazmin, had to source a local search and rescue organization.And then, in order for them to deploy, they had to have the approval and blessing of the State Police,” McNally told The Post.NMSP described the area Casias’ body was discovered as the McGaffey Ridge section of the park, approximately 6 to 15 miles from Casias’ home in Ranchos de Taos, which Breceda said is a well-traveled, popular hiking destination.

Yet still it took almost a year to locat...