A retired U.S. Air Force major general who once commanded a base long associated with UFO stories has been missing for nearly two weeks, prompting authorities to ask the public for help in locating him.
According to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office in New Mexico, retired Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland, 68, left his home in Albuquerque at around 11 a.m. on February 27 and has not been in contact with family or friends since. His mobile phone was left behind at the house.
Authorities issued a missing-person alert the following day, and the alert remains active.
Officials say they have conducted extensive searches in the surrounding area, interviewed witnesses, and coordinated multiple search efforts. Investigators have contacted more than 600 homeowners in the neighborhood in an attempt to determine McCasland’s whereabouts.
According to the sheriff’s office, McCasland is about 1.8 meters tall, with white hair and blue eyes. He is known to enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, running and cycling in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights area and the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.
Because of his background and past professional connections, the sheriff’s office said it is working closely with several agencies, including the local office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Albuquerque and Kirtland Air Force Base. The FBI has confirmed that it is assisting with the investigation.
According to the United States Air Force, McCasland held a number of highly sensitive positions during his military career. An aerospace engineer, he graduated from the United States Air Force Academy, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Harvard Kennedy School.
Throughout his career, he served as chief engineer of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Global Positioning System (GPS) program, director of the Space-Based Laser Project, director of special programs at the Pentagon, and commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has long been the subject of speculation that it stores alien debris linked to the Roswell Incident, though the U.S. Air Force has repeatedly denied such claims.
After retiring, McCasland worked with a company co-founded by musician Tom DeLonge that researches information related to unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).
His wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, wrote on Facebook that her husband had only limited connections to the UFO community and possessed no special knowledge about alien bodies or debris from the Roswell incident.
She also stressed that he was not suffering from memory loss or confusion. McCasland retired nearly 13 years ago, she said, making it unlikely that he would be targeted for kidnapping to extract secrets that are now outdated.
Wilkerson thanked the community and law enforcement agencies assisting in the search, including dozens of volunteer searchers on foot and horseback, as well as drones, helicopters and multiple K-9 units. Authorities have also been reviewing footage from home security cameras and wildlife cameras in the area.
The sheriff’s office said no signs of criminal activity have been found so far, but investigators are continuing to examine all possible scenarios.
McCasland’s disappearance came just days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he had directed the United States Department of Defense and other federal agencies to release files related to extraterrestrial life and UFOs.
