A retired US Air Force general who led laboratories linked to UFO research has been reported missing from New Mexico.
William Neil McCasland, 68, was last seen around 11am Friday near Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) said.
The sheriff’s office issued a Silver Alert, a public notification system used to locate missing seniors or individuals with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or other medical conditions.
‘Due to his medical issues, law enforcement is concerned for his safety,’ the office said.
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.
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.
The FBI told the Daily Mail that they are also involved in the hunt, but that the Sheriff’s Department is leading the search.
‘The FBI Albuquerque Field Office is involved in this investigation, as it is standard practice for the FBI to assist our local law enforcement partners if we have a tool, tactic, or technique that could benefit their investigations,’ a spokesperson said.
‘The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) is leading this investigation.’
The sheriff’s office has issued a Silver Alert, a public notification system used in the US to locate missing seniors or individuals with Alzheimer’s, dementia or other mental disabilities
Col. Justin Secrest, commander of Kirtland’s 377th Air Base Wing, told the Albuquerque Journal the base is working closely with local law enforcement.
‘Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time,’ Secrest said.
The BCSO shared a missing person’s report for McCasland on Facebook, writing: ‘Unknown clothing description and unknown direction of travel.’
By Sunday afternoon, the BCSO said New Mexico Search and Rescue was assisting in the investigation, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Anyone with information was urged to text BCSO at 847411 or call the Missing Persons Unit at 505-468-7070.
McCasland oversaw research at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where he managed the Air Force’s $2.2 billion science and technology program, along with additional customer-funded research.Â
Wright-Patterson has long been linked in UFO lore to the alleged study of materials from the 1947 Roswell incident, though official reports attribute the debris to Project Mogul balloons.
He retired from the Air Force in 2013 and later held private-sector positions, including director of technology at Applied Technology Associates.
William Neil McCasland, 68, was last seen around 11am Friday near Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office said
McCasland’s name became associated with UFO topics after the 2016 WikiLeaks release of emails from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman.Â
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.
He claimed that the US government and contractor groups already possess free energy technology, sometimes referred to as zero-point energy, that could make conventional energy sources obsolete, stating: ‘One inch of air could power the U.S. for hundreds of years.’
DeLonge suggested that TTSA was being restrained from releasing all the information government insiders had provided, but that the organization sought investment from private sources to develop this technology for energy and aerospace purposes.Â
He further stated that TTSA expected to create a working anti-gravity craft, and the company’s SEC filing noted that its aerospace division is ‘dedicated to finding revolutionary breakthroughs in propulsion, energy and communications.’
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.
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 (PICTURED)
These claims come from DeLonge and have not been confirmed by McCasland or official records.Â
There is no public evidence that he participated in UFO crash retrievals, reverse-engineering of non-human technology, or classified extraterrestrial programs.Â
His documented work focused on advanced aerospace research, which has fueled speculation about experimental propulsion and unidentified phenomena in defense circles.