Hayden Alter, 29, left an Albuquerque rehabilitation program on May 16, 2025, to visit family in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Family members say he was last seen that weekend around May 18 at a local church; his mother reported him missing on May 21 when his calls stopped. Online death records list his date of death as May 19, 2025.

New Mexico State Police found Alter’s car in rural San Miguel County on June 10; human remains inside and near the burned vehicle were later identified as his. Investigators narrowed his final hours to a small gathering on the night of May 19. Witness accounts in arrest affidavits describe an argument after someone accused Alter of being a cop or a snitch, followed by a gunshot. One witness said they saw Jose Eversole with a gun and that Alter was shot in the head.

Arrests in August 2025 led prosecutors to charge Eversole with murder, arson, and tampering with evidence; Montoya with conspiracy and tampering; and Meza with bribery of a witness and tampering. Alter’s family has shifted from missing-person appeals to seeking justice as the case moves into court. Did anyone in the Las Vegas, New Mexico area see or hear anything on the night of May 19 that could help clarify what happened to Hayden Alter?