The body of a missing nuclear lab worker who vanished last year was reportedly found “skeletonized” with a gunshot to her skull in a national forest in New Mexico.
Melissa Casias’ decaying body was found in a remote part of the Carson National Forest on Monday, according to local authorities. Casias, 54, was last seen on June 26, 2025.
Thomas McNally, a former homicide detective who was investigating Casias’ disappearance for her family, told The Daily Mail that the mom-of-one’s “skeletonized” corpse was propped up against a tree – with an abandoned gun laying nearby.
McNally said that Casias’ body didn’t show any signs of animal activity or disturbance, despite being left to rot in the forest.
The investigator firmly believes that foul play was involved in Casias’ death – and hinted that her devastated family will file a civil lawsuit against the New Mexico State Police for purportedly botching the case.
