2026年6月1日 / 美国东部时间下午3:13 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
当局周末宣布，在新墨西哥州一处国家森林中发现的遗骸已被证实为梅利莎·卡西亚斯的遗体，她是洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室的一名工作人员，已于去年失踪。
新墨西哥州州警方表示，一名徒步旅行者上周在卡森国家森林的麦加菲岭地区发现了这些遗骸。卡森国家森林是一片广袤的荒野区域，距离她的家乡陶斯市驾车可达。警方称，遗骸附近发现了一把手枪。卡西亚斯当时本该年满53岁。
据警方透露，法医办公室将继续开展检测，以确定她的死因和死亡方式。周六公布其身份时，相关鉴定结果尚未出炉。
卡西亚斯的侄女杰兹明·麦克米伦此前告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，她在洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室担任行政助理。她是去年该实验室第二名失踪的员工，此前78岁的安东尼·查韦斯于5月失踪。
执法官员告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，这两起案件只是至少10起失踪或死亡的敏感核技术或太空技术实验室工作人员案件中的两起。美国联邦调查局正在牵头调查这些案件之间是否存在关联。
梅利莎·卡西亚斯 查找梅利莎·蒙德拉贡·卡西亚斯/脸书主页
警方表示，卡西亚斯最后一次被人看到是在2025年6月26日，她当天前往看望女儿后，既没有去上班，也没有回家，随后被报失踪。家人后来找到了她的个人物品，包括身份证、钱包和手机，这加剧了人们对卡西亚斯下落和健康状况的担忧。
麦克米伦告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，她自己查看了监控录像，录像显示卡西亚斯最后一次被看到时正独自走在公路上，背着背包。
州警方表示，自卡西亚斯被报失踪以来，对其失踪案的调查一直在进行中，且将继续下去。警方称，他们“向卡西亚斯的亲属在这段艰难时期致以最诚挚的慰问”。
卡西亚斯的家人通过一个名为“查找梅利莎·蒙德拉贡·卡西亚斯”的社交媒体页面发布了一份声明，该页面专门用于跟进她的案件。这份声明同样于周六发布，哥伦比亚广播公司附属机构KRQE也获取并发布了该声明。
“我们确认，在里奥奇基托地区发现的遗骸就是梅利莎，”他们在声明中说道。“后续还会有更多信息，但我们现在可以告诉大家的是，她被发现的区域此前已经被搜索过。我们需要时间消化这一消息，心情十分沉重，我们将继续寻求正义的答案。”
卡莉·泰特尔鲍姆、帕特·米尔顿、丹尼尔·克莱德曼和安娜·谢克特为本报道撰稿。
Lab worker who vanished last year found dead in New Mexico national forest
June 1, 2026 / 3:13 PM EDT / CBS News
Remains found in a New Mexico national forest have been identified as those of Melissa Casias, a worker at the Los Alamos National Laboratory who disappeared last year, authorities announced over the weekend.
New Mexico State Police said the remains were discovered by a hiker last week in the McGaffey Ridge area of the Carson National Forest, a massive expanse of wilderness that is within driving distance of Taos, the city where she was from. A handgun was found near the remains, state police said. Casias would have been 53.
The medical examiner’s office will continue to conduct tests to determine the cause and manner of her death, according to police. When they shared her identity Saturday, neither of those rulings had been made yet.
Casias was employed as an administrative assistant at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, her niece, Jazmin McMillen, previously told CBS News. She was the second person employed at the laboratory to go missing last year, following the disappearance of Anthony Chavez, 78, in May.
Both are among a group of at least 10 missing or deceased scientists and laboratory staff who worked at sensitive nuclear or space technology labs, law enforcement officials have told CBS News. The FBI is leading an investigation into possible connections between the cases.
Melissa Casias Find Melissa Mondragon Casias/Facebook
Casias was reported missing on June 26, 2025, after failing to show up to work or return home that evening after visiting her daughter, state police said. Family members later found her personal belongings, including her ID, purse and cell phones, which raised concerns about Casias’ whereabouts and wellbeing.
Casias was last seen walking alone on a highway, wearing a backpack, McMillen told CBS News, after she said she reviewed the surveillance footage that captured her aunt herself.
An investigation into Casias’ disappearance has been ongoing since she was reported missing and will continue, according to state police. They said that they “extend their deepest condolences” to Casias’ relatives “during this difficult time.”
The family released a statement of their own through a social media page called Find Melissa Mondragon Casias, which is dedicated to her case. The statement, also released Saturday, was additionally obtained and published by CBS affiliate KRQE.
“We confirm that the remains found in Rio Chiquito are Melissa,” they said in the statement. “There will be more information to come but what we can tell you now is she was located in an area previously searched. This is a lot to process, our hearts are heavy and we fully intend to continue to pursue answers for justice.”
Callie Teitelbaum, Pat Milton, Daniel Klaidman and Anna Schecter contributed to this report.
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