Autopsy report deepens mystery surrounding Los Alamos lab worker found dead of gunshot wound

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Key points

• Former Los Alamos employee Anthony Chavez, 79, vanished without a trace after leaving his home on foot on May 4, 2025, just seven weeks before Casias.
• Melissa Casias, 54, disappeared in June 2025 while working at the New Mexico laboratory, where nuclear weapons research continues and the first atomic bomb was developed.
• William Neil McCasland, 68, hasn't been seen since leaving his home in Albuquerque on Feb.
• Steven Garcia, a administration contractor working for a major facility in Albuquerque, additionally disappeared after walking out of his home on Aug.
• Her daughter documented her missing after finding Casias' two phones, wallet, identification and laptop at her Taos, N.M., home, but no sign of her mother.

Meanwhile, the death of Los Alamos National Laboratory worker whose remains were discovered almost a year after she went missing remains shrouded in mystery – after medical examiners disclosed they can't determine who left her with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

In late May, almost a year after her disappearance, a hiker stumbled upon Casias' skeletonized remains in a secluded stretch of northern New Mexico, with a handgun lying close by.

For context, an autopsy published this month determined that a gunshot wound caused Casias' death, but investigators could not conclude whether it was self-inflicted, the Los Angeles Times noted.

Casias' remains were in an "advanced state of decomposition" when she was discovered, according to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, and dental image comparisons were required to identify her.

Meanwhile, the condition of her body additionally limited investigators' "ability to estimate the range of fire, other possible injuries involving skin, soft tissues and organs, and underlying natural disease, " the report stated.

Casias' family has pushed for a more thorough investigation and maintained that they do not believe she killed herself, according to the Times.

"The condition and circumstances in which Melissa's remains were ultimately discovered have only raised more questions for her family, " the family wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to finding Casias.

"Melissa was a mother. A daughter. A sister. A woman who was deeply loved. Her family searched for her, fought for her, and refused to offer up on her while she was missing. They will not offer up on her now."

For context, the unresolved findings come as Casias' case has become part of an FBI investigation examining feasible connections among the deaths or disappearances of at least 10 federal scientists or staff members tied to highly sensitive national security-related research.

Monica Reza, 60, an aerospace engineer who served as the director of the NASA Lab's Materials Processing Group, disappeared while hiking in a Los Angeles forest just steps behind two friends, additionally in June 2025.

Steven Garcia, a administration contractor working for a major facility in Albuquerque, additionally disappeared after walking out of his home on Aug. 28, 2025, carrying only a handgun and no identification.

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, hasn't been seen since leaving his home in Albuquerque on Feb. 27. Notably, the FBI is now involved in the search for McCasland. This person had deep knowledge on UFOs and was involved in some of the Pentagon's most advanced aerospace research, The Post previously documented.

For now, autopsy report deepens mystery surrounding Los Alamos lab worker found dead of remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.