It has been weeks since a retired Air Force general who has been linked to UFO programs went missing from his New Mexico home.
William ‘Neil’ McCasland, 68, was last seen around 11am on February 27 near Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque, during a one-hour window while his wife left the house.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) released a new timeline Thursday describing his last known movements.
McCasland was speaking with a home repairman at 10am, and his wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, left the home about one hour and 10 minutes later.
At approximately 12.04pm, Susan returned to an empty house, finding her husband’s phone, prescription glasses and wearable devices were left behind.
However, hiking boots and a .38-caliber revolver were missing. Susan then reported McCasland missing at 3.07pm, and BCSO jumped on the case.
Investigators believe he may have left the home on foot, and search teams later discovered a US Air Force sweatshirt roughly one mile from the residence, though officials have not confirmed whether it belonged to McCasland.
McCasland, a veteran of Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, previously led both the Phillips Research Site and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson in Ohio, rumored to hold extraterrestrial debris tied to the 1947 Roswell crash.
Some UFO enthusiasts have linked those facilities to secret studies of advanced aerospace technology and unexplained phenomena, though officials maintain they focus on national security and experimental defense projects.
William ‘Neil’ McCasland, 68, was last seen around 11am on February 27 near Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque. Authorities believe he may have left wearing the shirt in this photo
BCSO has also released a new image of McCasland wearing a light green, long-sleeve button-up outdoor shirt, saying he may have been wearing the shirt when he went missing.
‘While there is currently no evidence indicating foul play, investigators are examining all available information as the case remains active,’ the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Authorities are urging residents near the McCaslands’ neighborhood to check security camera footage from February 27 and 28, especially between 9am and 2pm, and contact investigators if they find any video or information that could help the search.
He is described as five feet 11 inches tall with white hair and blue eyes.
Because several of his personal items were left behind, investigators are trying to determine whether he left voluntarily or encountered trouble shortly after leaving his home.
McCasland is known as an avid outdoorsman who frequently hiked, ran and cycled in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights and the nearby Sandia Foothills, an area of rugged desert terrain that has become a focal point of the search effort.
Investigators are also urging hikers who may have worn GoPro cameras or recorded cellphone video in the Sandia Foothills to check their footage for anything that might show McCasland.
Search efforts have been extensive, with dozens of volunteers and law enforcement officers searching the area on foot and horseback while drones, helicopters and specialized search dogs combed the terrain.
A veteran of Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, McCasland previously led both the Phillips Research Site and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson in Ohio
Authorities issued a Silver Alert for McCasland, though his family says he does not suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
A Silver Alert is a public notification system used to locate missing seniors or individuals with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or other medical conditions.
His family has pushed back on speculation that his former access to classified programs could be linked to his disappearance, noting that he retired from the military nearly 13 years ago.
McCasland’s name became associated with UFO topics after the 2016 WikiLeaks release of emails from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman.
In the emails, musician Tom DeLonge, founder of Blink-182 and the UFO-focused To The Stars Academy (TTSA), referenced McCasland multiple times, claiming he had advised him on disclosure matters and helped assemble an advisory team.
DeLonge also suggested on a podcast that he was being advised by McCasland and several named and unnamed insiders to carry out a slow disclosure of UAP information to the American public from US government or contractor sources.
An email tied McCasland to Wright-Patterson, alleging he oversaw the lab where Roswell materials were supposedly sent, and scheduling emails showed a planned meeting with DeLonge, Podesta, and someone signing as ‘Neil McC,’ consistent with McCasland.
These claims come from DeLonge and have not been confirmed by McCasland or official records.
There is no public evidence that he participated in UFO crash retrievals, reverse-engineering of non-human technology, or classified extraterrestrial programs.
McCasland’s documented work focused on advanced aerospace research, which has fueled speculation about experimental propulsion and unidentified phenomena in defense circles.
