Mysterious Disappearances of LANL-Connected Individuals in NM

Anthony "Tony" Chavez, 78, walked out of his home on 37th Street in Los Alamos on May 4, 2025, and has not been seen since. His family reported him missing four days later. The Los Alamos Police Department called subsequent search efforts "exhaustive" while coming up empty, noting only that people close to Chavez consider the disappearance entirely out of character. That case, still open, was the first in a sequence of vanishings that have since attracted intense scrutiny across northern New Mexico.

Melissa Casias, 53, a LANL employee who lived in Ranchos de Taos, was last seen June 26, 2025, walking eastbound on New Mexico Route 518 toward Carson National Forest near Talpa, a historic settlement at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Her car, purse, and both phones were found inside her home. New Mexico State Police classified her as "missing endangered" and continues to lead the investigation. Two months after she disappeared, the agency disclosed no significant leads publicly.

The most nationally prominent of the three cases involves retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, who left his Albuquerque home on foot at approximately 11 a.m. on February 27, 2026, and has not contacted family or friends since. His phone, prescription glasses, and wearable devices were left behind. The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office issued a Silver Alert, which remains active, and the FBI joined the search weeks after his disappearance. McCasland, who commanded the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and oversaw classified space weapons programs during his career, had an unspecified medical condition at the time of his disappearance. Authorities canvassed hundreds of homes, deployed drones, helicopters, and canine units. On March 7, a gray Air Force sweatshirt was found 1.25 miles east of his Albuquerque home; preliminary testing detected no blood. Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said publicly that investigators found "absolutely nothing that would suggest anything nefarious has occurred."

Whether the three cases are meaningfully related is a question no law enforcement agency has answered affirmatively. All three individuals had ties to New Mexico's national security or defense communities; in each case, personal items were left behind and extensive searches produced no resolution. Online discussions have pushed those commonalities into a theory of linked disappearances, with speculation ranging from intelligence-community scenarios to UFO-related claims. None of the agencies investigating any of the three cases has endorsed a connection.

Anyone with information about Chavez can contact the Los Alamos Police Department at (505) 662-8222. Tips on Casias can be directed to New Mexico State Police at (505) 425-6771 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at (505) 843-7867. The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office is coordinating with the FBI on the McCasland investigation.

Anyone planning solo travel in northern New Mexico's backcountry, particularly around Carson National Forest where Casias was last seen heading, should leave a full itinerary with a trusted contact, carry a satellite communicator independent of a cell signal, and set a firm check-in deadline before departure.