Hiker's remains found in New Mexico identified as missing Los Alamos National Laboratory employee

The human remains of a hiker discovered last week in a New Mexico national forest have been identified as those of a Los Alamos National Laboratory employee who had been missing for nearly a year, authorities said.

Following the discovery in the McGaffrey Ridge area of Carson National Forest on Thursday, the New Mexico Medical Investigator’s Office confirmed the remains were those of Melissa Casias, according to authorities.

“Investigators also learned that a handgun was located alongside the remains,” New Mexico State Police said in a statement Saturday.

The Medical Investigator’s Office is likely to establish the cause and manner of death, police added.

A representative of Mrs Casias’ family said they would have no comment until after a meeting with investigators.

Los Alamos National Laboratory did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

McGaffrey Ridge, approximately six miles from Mrs Casias’s home, can be reached by state highway, which she was seen walking along the day she disappeared.

The 53-year-old was reported missing on June 26 after her supervisor raised the alarm as she hadn’t reported for work, her husband, Mark Casias, said last year.

He said she dropped him off at the federal energy research institution - where they both worked - earlier that day.

Mr Casias said his wife told him she was going to another area of the lab for a work task but did not return as planned.

Their daughter Sierra said she later discovered her mother’s keys and a phone that had been reset to factory settings at their home in the town of Ranchos de Taos.

That same afternoon, a family acquaintance said they saw her walking eastbound on State Road 518, Police Sgt. Ricardo Breceda said last year.

Mr Casias said he subsequently found documents detailing that his wife was under immense stress at the time, though he declined to share specific details.

Police have not ruled out foul play – including the possibility of getting into another vehicle that day – but Breceda said last year it may be the case that she disappeared by choice.

State Police offered their “deepest condolences” to Mrs Casias’s loved ones and said the investigation would continue.