Remains of missing lab worker found in New Mexico nearly a year after she vanished
Her disappearance was among several cases of dead or missing US scientists linked to space, defence and nuclear research
Remains discovered in New Mexico last month have been identified as those of a lab worker who disappeared more than a year ago.
Listen to this article
Melissa Casias, who worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, went missing in June 2025.
Her disappearance was among several cases of dead or missing US scientists linked to space, defence, and nuclear research.
The pattern has prompted wild online speculation about potential 'sinister' connections between the string of incidents.
President Donald Trump even waded into the discussion, describing the spate of disappearances as "pretty serious stuff".
The White House and the FBI are now investigating the cases to identify if there are any patterns.
Read more: Trump in 'excellent health' but needs to lose weight and exercise more, doctor claims
Casias, 53, was an administrative assistant with top security clearance who worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory - one of the nation's most important nuclear research sites.
She was reported missing on 26 June after she didn't arrive at work or return home after visiting her daughter, according to police.
Her family later discovered she had left behind all of her belongings, including her phone, identification and purse.
She vanished within weeks of Anthony Chavez, 79, also an active administrative assistant at the facility.
The disappearances started when retired Air Force General William Neil McCasland went missing on February 28.
He was seen leaving his New Mexico home without a phone in February.
His wife told 911 dispatchers McCasland looked like he was trying to "not to be found".
A disturbing pattern emerges as his disappearance was nearly identical to four other missing person cases in the Southwest between May and August last year.
Worryingly, they have all been linked to McCasland through his work with the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) which was based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
The base has been legendary since the 1947 Roswell UFO crash, as it's rumoured to study extraterrestrial technology.
McCasland supervised and approved funded for scientist Monica Jacinto Reza to develop a space-age metal for rocket engines called Mondaloy.
Reza, 60, then disappeared while on a hiking trip in California on June 22 last year.
Steven Garcia was a government contractor working at the Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC), which builds more than 80 per cent of the non-nuclear components that go into building the military's nuclear weapons.
Like McCasland, Steven Garcia, 48, vanished from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on foot, without everyday essentials like a phone, instead just bringing a handgun.