Another vanished official could be tied to missing and dead US scientists: report

A married mom who vanished last year may be tied to a string of mysterious deaths and disappearances of US scientists and military officials with access to potentially sensitive information, according to a report.

Melissa Casias, who worked with her husband as an administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory [LANL] — famous for developing nuclear weapons during the Manhattan Project — has not been seen since she dropped lunch off for her daughter in New Mexico last summer.

She is one of four high-clearance people who have died or gone missing since June 2025 with connections to UFO-linked retired Air Force Gen. William McCasland, who vanished last month, according to the Daily Mail.

Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker told the Mail he is now worried that she is part of an alarming pattern, as her work as an assistant at LANL may have made her a target for kidnapping.

“In a classified lab, or just a high clearance lab, they would basically be in the know on what’s going on,” Swecker, who spent 24 years with the agency, said. “And it wouldn’t be the first time their administrative assistant has been targeted.”

The FBI “can’t have these examined in isolation and compartmentalize them as individual missing person cases,” he added.

Casias and her husband both worked at LANL in New Mexico. She was last seen on camera on June 25, 2025 walking alone on a highway without her wallet, phone or keys, after telling family members she would be working from home, Dateline reported.

Her family suspect she left over personal and financial reasons. They believe she may have gotten inside a vehicle shortly after she was seen on surveillance video. She hasn’t been seen since.

Casias’ job at LANL links her to missing General William McCasland, the former research commander at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, which works closely with LANL on national security projects, according to the Daily Mail.

Casias vanished just four days after NASA rocket scientist Monica Reza mysteriously disappeared while hiking with friends in the Angeles National Forest in California. 

While there is no direct connection to their cases, Reza was also in McCasland’s sphere doing research that was funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory while he was overseeing it.

During his military career, McCasland also headed up research at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio — a role in which he oversaw classified space weapons programs.

The retired Air Force general was last seen by his wife, Susan, in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Feb. 27. Despite a massive search involving the FBI, he has not been found, although police say foul play is not suspected.

McCasland was a “gatekeeper” and a “participant” in the UFO community, a source previously told The Post.

Swecker noted that the disappearances of Casias, Reza and McCasland may not be connected, investigators need to be sure because critical technology or information could be at risk.

“I think you have to pull out all the resources necessary to look for links and look for potential espionage activities. That’s where you start,” Swecker told the Daily Mail.

In February, before McCasland vanished, renowned astrophysicist Carl Grillmair was shot dead at his home in California. His shooter was arrested and is currently in jail.

Grillmair, a researcher at Caltech’s IPAC Science and Data Center, reportedly worked on telescope projects powered by military technology monitored by AFRL, which McCasland oversaw.

“You can say these are all suspicious,” Swecker said, “and these are scientists who have worked in critical technology.”