MISSING: Melissa Casias
Crime Junkie
MISSING: Melissa Casias
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AI Summary
This episode follows the disappearance of Melissa Casias from Taos County, New Mexico in June 2025. When Melissa failed to show up for work at Los Alamos National Laboratory, her husband Mark and daughter Sierra discovered she had vanished, leaving behind her phones (which had been factory reset), wallet, keys, and work badge. The case immediately splits the family into two camps: Mark and his daughters believe Melissa left voluntarily, while Melissa's parents and extended family suspect foul play and grow increasingly suspicious of Mark's behavior and contradictory statements. The investigation reveals troubling inconsistencies. Mark initially told police he and Melissa had a normal morning, but later revealed they'd had a heated argument about her vaping. A witness reported seeing a woman matching Melissa's description stumbling along Highway 518, but police declined to investigate after Mark dismissed it. The family is divided on whether Melissa walked away from her close relationship with her daughter Sierra, who was about to start beauty school, or whether something more sinister occurred. The case remains unsolved with both theories actively debated.
Key takeaways
- 01Melissa Casias disappeared on June 26, 2025, leaving behind her phones (factory reset), wallet, keys, and work badge, but taking her thyroid medication, toothbrush, and reading glasses
- 02The family is sharply divided: Mark and his daughters believe Melissa left voluntarily, while Melissa's parents suspect foul play and are suspicious of Mark's behavior
- 03Mark provided contradictory statements to police, initially not mentioning a morning argument with Melissa but later revealing they'd fought about her vaping
- 04A witness reported seeing a woman matching Melissa's description stumbling near Highway 518, but police declined to investigate after Mark dismissed the lead
- 05Melissa had a close relationship with her daughter Sierra and had plans to help her move to Albuquerque for beauty school, making voluntary disappearance seem unlikely to some family members
Timestamps
Topics
Companies mentioned
Quotes
"Yeah, this is Mark Casillas. You know what? We cannot locate my wife. We haven't heard from her all day from work. This morning was the last time I saw her. My daughter saw her around 1 o'clock. All her stuff is here in the house, but she's not here and it's just not like her to not call home to check in and take her purse and her phone."
— Mark Casillas
"I wish I was exaggerating. I mean, what if she got the limp because she jumped out of a car? I mean, she could have been drugged. The girl could have tripped over a pebble while just like out on a walk. Like, I could talk about this for hours and we're gonna get into it more later, I promise. But they decide not to look."
— Ashley Flowers
"Instead of being excited about the lead, Mark immediately shuts it down. He tells officers there's no way that this was Melissa because she wasn't wearing a white sweater that day."
— Ashley Flowers
Transcript
Hi Crime Junkies, it's Brit. If you're like me and you're ready to dive into even more cases, there's another podcast I think you're gonna love. Park Predators. In Park Predators, host Delia D'Ambra dives into the haunting crimes that happen in some of the most beautiful and unexpected places across the globe. Delia has helped host a couple of episodes of Crime Junkie in the past, and if you've listened to her before, you already know her investigative approach brings the facts of each case and their chilling details to life, making Park Predators the perfect mix of captivating and informative storytelling. So once you're done with this episode of Crime Junkie, go check out Park Predators. New episodes drop every week. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Hi Crime Junkies, I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. And I'm Brit. Listen, last year, I received an email from a crime junkie. A woman named Jasmine wanted help because her aunt had recently vanished from Taos County, New Mexico, and no one could agree on what happened to her. But everyone did agree to speak with us because at the heart of it, they all say they want to know what happened to her. Her husband and her daughter think she left on her own. Her other family believes that she was a victim of foul play. And I'll be honest with you, I don't know what to believe. Each side believes their theory so fervently that I'm afraid my recounting of the facts as I know them are going to upset everyone because even the facts don't…