Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,Fresh evidence recovered from the remote New Mexico forest where Los Alamos National Laboratory administrative assistant Melissa Casias was found has blown major holes in the suicide narrative.An independent team hired by her own family discovered bones, torn and bloody clothing, orange peels, strands of what appears to be horse hair, shredded paper that may contain her handwriting, and a tobacco pouch - none of which New Mexico State Police recovered after clearing the scene.Casias, 53, vanished from her Ranchos de Taos home on June 26, 2025. She left without her purse, keys or wallet. Surveillance captured her walking alone eastward on State Road 518 around 2:20 p.m.Both her work and personal phones were found at the house, factory-reset and wiped of all data. A blood drop was also discovered inside the residence. Nearly eleven months later, on May 28, 2026, a hiker located her skeletal remains in the McGaffey Ridge area of Carson National Forest next to a handgun her family says did not belong to her.Initial CT scans showed no gunshot wound and no projectile in the skull. No casing was recovered at the scene. The remote location is difficult to reach on foot, requiring multiple rest stops and water.Now, new details have raised further serious questions.Family attorney David Adams of Parnall and Adams Law said an independent search conducted in late June - after police had already cleared the area - turned up the additional items. "The family really wasn't expecting to find any additional information... it certainly turned out to be something much, much more," Adams stated.He noted the presence of possible horse hair and the rugged terrain: "In my mind, when you see that, you kind of go, okay, well, I could see that you would need a horse to get her up there if you were moving a body, for instance, because how you would otherwise do that."Melissa Casias, missing for years, was found dead in a New Mexico forest, with her family uncovering shocking new evidence that upends the initial investigation. Law&Crime's Jesse Weber @jessecordweber reports. pic.twitter.com/WFN4UT0Viq