REMAINS FOUND 

Major twist in missing UFO experts mystery as body of lab worker found next to gun – in area cops had already searched

ONE of the missing people who worked at the laboratory known as the birthplace of the atomic bomb has been found dead nearly a year after she vanished.

Melissa Casias, 53, was one of the at least ten individuals with ties to nuclear and aerospace programs who have mysteriously disappeared or died.

7
The remains of Melissa Casias, a 53-year-old missing woman from New Mexico, have been found almost a year after she vanishedCredit: Handout
 

7
Casias worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the birthplace of the atomic bomb, and has been linked to the string of eerie deaths and disappearances of scientistsCredit: Getty
Human remains discovered by a hiker in the Carson National Forest on Thursday have been positively identified as Casias’s, according to the New Mexico State Police.

Investigators revealed that a handgun was found near her remains.

“The cause and manner of death have not yet been determined,” state police said, adding that her remains will undergo additional anthropological examination.

Casias worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, which is known as the home of the secret Manhattan Project where the atomic bomb was created during World War II.

She was first reported missing on June 26, 2025 after she did not make it to work and failed to return home after visiting her daughter at work.

Casia’s disappearance has been tied to several people with ties to UFO research and nuclear and space programs who have gone missing or died under seemingly eerie circumstances, which has sparked conspiracy theories that there could be links between them.

One of the missing people includes Retired Air Force Major General William “Neil” McCasland, who worked at a military base with ties to UFO sightings and vanished in February.

Her family found that her personal belongings, such as her phones, purse and identification had been left behind, which made them concerned about her wellbeing.

An extensive search was launched where investigators learned both of her cell phones underwent a factory-reset and that she was spotted on a surveillance camera walking along a state road.

Officials previously conducted a search of Carson National Forest, which is roughly six miles from her home, where they found her shoes, according to private investigator and retired homicide detective Thomas McNally, who was hired by her family.

Casias is not the only person who worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to go missing or die recently, 78-year-old Anthony Chavez, who retired from the lab, was reported missing in May 2025 and has yet to be found.

However, her McNally and her family have pushed back on the theories that she is part of the circle as she was not a scientist.

7
Casias was reported missing after she didn’t show up to work and failed to return home after visiting her daughter at workCredit: GoFundMe
 

7
Casias was captured on a surveillance cam soon after she disappearedCredit: New Mexico State Police
 

7
“She was an administrative assistant who was responsible for purchasing routine office supplies,” McNally told the New York Post.

Her case has also drawn similarities to those of other missing people who suddenly left on foot without taking their phones or essentials with them.

Steven Garcia, a 48-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, left his home in August 2025 without his wallet, keys and phone, and has yet to be seen.

The government contractor allegedly had ties to the Kansas City National Security Campus, which makes non-nuclear components used in national defense systems.

McCasland, a 68-year-old retired Air Force general, vanished in February, leaving his New Mexico home with nothing but a pair of boots and a gun.

McCasland, whose wife believes he “had planned not to be found,” worked at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which many alien enthusiasts have claimed has links to various UFO sightings.

A former colleague of his, Monica Reza, 60, who worked on a rocket project overseen by McCasland, disappeared months earlier on a hiking trip in California.

Amy Eskridge is believed to be the first person who died in the string of over ten eerie cases.

7
William “Neil” McCasland, who worked at an Air Force base tied to UFO sightings disappeared in FebruaryCredit: USAF
 

7
Amy Eskridge, who co-founded the Institute for Exotic Science is believed to be the first person who died in the conspiracy theory linking missing and dead scientistsCredit: Facebook
The 34-year-old from Alabama co-founded the Institute for Exotic Science with her retired NASA engineer father and died from a self-inflicted gunshot in June 2022.

Two scientists, including Carl Grillmair, a 67-year-old Caltech astrophysicist and 47-year-old MIT physics professor Nuno Loureiro, were gunned down at their homes.

Loureiro led MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center in 2024 and was found to be killed by a former classmate from Portugal, Claudio Neves Valente.

Grillmair, who discovered water on a planet outside of our solar system, was killed outside of his California home and 29-year-old Freddy Snyder was charged with his murder.

Michael Hicks, 59, and Frank Maiwald, 61, who both worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in California died in 2023 and 2024 respectively and no causes of deaths were revealed nor were autopsies performed for either man.

Jason Thomas, a 45-year-old scientist went missing in December 2025 and was later found dead in a Massachusetts lake in March 2026, where investigators believe there was no foul play involved.

A possible thirteenth link appeared in April with the death of Joshua LeBlanc, 29, who died in a fiery crash in July 2025 in Huntsville, Alabama, the same area where Eskridge was from.

LeBlanc worked as a NASA aerospace technologies electrical engineer where he worked on nuclear propulsion projects.

His Tesla caught fire after colliding with a guardrail and several trees.

His family raised concerns about his death after his phone, wallet and dog were found at his apartment.