Only weeks after former President Barack Obama ignited a firestorm by hinting at the existence of extraterrestrials, a retired Air Force major general with an extensive background in UFOs has gone missing.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (N.M.) issued a Silver Alert for William Neil McCasland, who was last seen on Feb. 27. Local law enforcement said that the 68-year-old McCasland has medical issues, though they did not specify what those were.
Law enforcement also reported that McCasland left his home without his phone or smart watch.
On the March 8 episode of his “Reality Check” podcast, NewsNation special correspondent Ross Coulthart pointed out that McCasland’s disappearance also follows President Donald Trump directing the Pentagon and other federal agencies to release any government records related to UFOs and extraterrestrial life.
A retired US Air Force general was reported missing in New Mexico.
Retired Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, was last seen around 11 a.m. Friday near Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office said.
McCasland was a longtime leader at Kirtland… pic.twitter.com/QxkKwU50Y8
— ClearCast Communiqué (@ClearCastComms) March 2, 2026
“The timing is screechingly relevant,” Coulthart said. “The fact that Gen. Neil McCasland has disappeared off the face of the earth is a grave national security crisis for the United States of America.
“This is a man with some of the most sensitive secrets of the United States in his head,” Coulthart added.
McCasland was among the main research officials at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, where he oversaw classified space weapons programs.
The conversations surrounding extraterrestrials took on life in February, when Obama turned heads in a conversation with podcast host Brian Taylor. During a “lightning-round conversation,” Obama was asked about extraterrestrial species, and he commented that aliens are real, though he hadn’t seen them.
“They’re not being kept in Area 51,” Obama said. “There’s no underground facility unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.”
Barack Obama on aliens: “They’re real”
“But I haven’t seen them. They’re not being kept at Area 51. There’s no underground facility — unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the President of the United States.” pic.twitter.com/c6t0DYxewU
— UAP James (@UAPJames) February 14, 2026
Obama later clarified that he saw “no evidence” of extraterrestrial life during his eight years in office, though he still believes that there is something out there.
“Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there,” Obama explained. “But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!”
Aliens, UFOs, and the overall topic of extraterrestrials remain an extremely popular topic, both in pop culture and everyday conversation. There is no shortage of alien movies regularly released — Ice Cube starred in a widely panned remake of “War of the Worlds” last year — and the same holds true for video games.
Of course, just a simple social media search always pulls up plenty of conspiracy theories. We might need to wait a little longer to find out if any of those theories have merit, though.