Following a high-profile disappearance, Dr. Bill Birnes suggests even U.S. presidents may not control what’s known about extraterrestrial encounters
Amid the bizarre disappearance of retired Air Force General Neil McCasland in New Mexico, who had access to classified aerospace and defense research, Los Angeles spoke with longtime UFO researcher Dr. Bill Birnes about a growing pattern of unexplained incidents, presidential secrecy, and his controversial theories about human origins.
Birnes, a former publisher of UFO Magazine, host of the History Channel’s UFO Hunters, and co-author of The Day After Roswell, has spent decades investigating unidentified aerial phenomena and alleged government secrecy. He holds a doctorate in psychology and has interviewed military witnesses tied to some of the most well-known UFO cases in modern history…ahem, Roswell.
The timing of McCasland’s disappearance has drawn particular attention as it came shortly after President Donald Trump publicly spoke about possible disclosures of all UFO-related files on Truth Social.
Credit: Truth Social
Birnes pointed to a long history of presidents suggesting limits to what they could publicly reveal. Former President Bill Clinton said he tasked then–Deputy Attorney General Webster Hubbell with investigating both the Roswell incident (if you aren’t familiar, keep reading, we’ll explain) and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, later claiming that there appeared to be information even he, as the President, could not fully access. Former President Barack Obama, when asked about UFOs during a late-night television interview, famously joked that he was “not allowed to talk about it,” a comment often remembered by UFO researchers as evidence of restricted disclosure.
I had an absolutely wild interview with Dr. Bill Birnes of The History Channel’s UFO Hunters and co-author of The Day After Roswell. Birnes told me aliens are real, not all that different from us, and he’s even spoken to them. Full interview below…you’ve got to check it out👀… pic.twitter.com/3nEB9jghnO
— Lauren Conlin (@conlin_lauren) March 25, 2026
The Roswell incident, which is frequently referenced in UFO discussions, dates back to July 1947, when debris recovered near Roswell, New Mexico, was initially described by the U.S. Army Air Forces as a “flying disc” before officials quickly retracted the statement and said it was a weather balloon. There were even reports of “extraterrestrial debris.” The U.S. government later concluded the debris was part of a top-secret Project Mogul surveillance balloon, though the event remains a cornerstone of UFO conspiracy theories. Birnes maintains that eyewitness accounts from military personnel at Roswell suggest unidentified craft were observed prior to the incident, though those claims remain unverified.
🚨 For the first time ever, the exact Roswell UFO crash site has been revealed .
An “egg shaped craft about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle” was found crashed 27 miles from where the metallic debris was found. “Alien bodies” were also recovered.#Ufotwitter #Roswell #Alien pic.twitter.com/oSOoYROJwL
— T R U T H P O L E (@Truthpole) October 3, 2024
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It’s also safe to say that Birnes’ views do lean more into a controversial territory.
He went even further in the interview, making a series of extraordinary claims about extraterrestrials and human origins. “What they (the extraterrestrial) told me is that they’ve been here…this planet is a colony and they are watching us,” Birnes said, describing what he characterized as encounters with non-human “emissaries.”
He also referenced interpretations of the Bible to support his theory that extraterrestrial beings may have influenced human origins. Birnes pointed to the Book of Genesis describing the “Nephilim,” which he said translates to “those who descended,” arguing that such language could mean there were ancient accounts of non-human entities interacting with early humans.
In his view, these interpretations align with claims from former military officials and researchers that humanity may not yet be prepared for full disclosure. Despite the wild nature of these claims, Birnes said the lack of transparency continues to fuel public curiosity, of course.
“The real truth is right in front of us,” he said, “but we don’t know how to recognize it.”
While there is no verified evidence linking McCasland’s disappearance to UFO-related activity, his case has been discussed alongside other deaths and disappearances that have circulated in UFO research circles. Figures such as British weapons expert Dr. David Kelly, whose 2003 death was officially ruled a suicide, and other scientists have been cited in speculative discussions, though officials have not connected those cases to extraterrestrial research.
The FBI has joined the search for William McCasland, 68, who was last seen on Friday near his New Mexico homeCredit: U.S. Air Force/Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office
For now, McCasland’s disappearance remains unexplained, with no official indication of foul play or connection to classified programs. But as calls for transparency intensify, his case has become part of a bigger narrative that combines national security, science and questions about what.. if anything..lies beyond.