Family Rejects Suicide in Melissa Casias, 54, Death as Remains Surface Near Handgun
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 4
Family Rejects Suicide in Melissa Casias, 54, Death as Remains Surface Near Handgun
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 4
Summary
Melissa Casias' relatives said her death should not be treated as suicide after a hiker found her remains over the weekend in Carson National Forest with a handgun nearby.
June 26, 2025, was the day the 54-year-old Los Alamos National Laboratory administrative assistant disappeared from Taos after missing work, visiting her daughter and never returning home.
Personal belongings — including her purse, driver's license and multiple cellphones — were left behind, and relatives said the area had already been searched before the remains were discovered.
No official cause or manner of death had been released by Thursday, while a private investigator working with the family said the condition and location of the remains raised further questions.
Los Alamos employs about 14,000 people at one of 16 Energy Department labs, and the case has drawn wider attention amid scrutiny of deaths and disappearances tied to U.S. nuclear programs.