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A retired U.S. Air Force general who spent part of his career engaged in UFO research has disappeared in New Mexico.
William Neil McCasland, 68, was last seen around 11 a.m. local time on Friday near Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the investigation to find him.
McCasland’s wife said he had left home without his watch or phone, which was considered unusual for a man known to be an experienced outdoorsman, with a passion for hiking and skiing.
The sheriff’s office said a silver alert had been issued for McCasland, indicating particular concern for his wellbeing because he suffers from an unspecified medical condition.
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Retired U.S. Air Force general William Neil McCasland has been reported missing in New Mexico (U.S. Air Force)
The missing man is described as standing five feet 11 inches tall and weighing around 160 pounds, with white hair and blue eyes.
“Our priority is finding Mr McCasland safely,” said Sheriff John Allen. “Our investigators and search teams are working continuously, and we’re coordinating closely with our local, state, and federal partners.
“We’re asking the public to help by checking and preserving any security camera footage from the area and reporting any information immediately.”
One woman has reported a supposed sighting of McCasland, writing on the Albuquerque Trail Running Crew’s Facebook group that she had informed police after spotting a person matching his description on the Whitewash trailhead in Piedra Lisa Canyon, according to The Daily Mail.
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McCasland previously worked at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson in Dayton, Ohio, where the debris from the 1947 Roswell incident in New Mexico was taken for analysis, a subject of ongoing fascination to UFO fans to this day (AP)
Colonel Justin Secrest, base commander of the 377th Air Base Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, where McCasland previously served, told The Albuquerque Journal: “We are coordinating closely with local authorities and defer all updates regarding the search efforts to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.
“Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.”
Before entering the private sector after his retirement from service in 2013, McCasland led both the Kirtland base’s Phillips Research Site and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson in Dayton, Ohio, where he was responsible for managing the Air Force’s $2.2 billion science and technology program, as well as its public-funded research efforts.
Wright-Patterson is a famous name among UFO experts as it was the site at which debris retrieved from the 1947 Roswell incident in New Mexico was analysed and studied.
Official reports state that the material in question really came from fallen Project Mogul balloons, designed to give advance warning of Soviet atomic bomb detonations by detecting their sound waves, and not flying saucers.
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Blink-182 frontman Tom DeLonge is passionate about UFOs and claimed McCasland helped him on related projects (Getty)
The Dayton base was home to Project Blue Book in the 1950s and 60s and recorded some 12,618 alleged UFO sightings at the height of the Cold War, 701 of which reportedly remain “unidentified.”
McCasland’s name is also known to UFO watchers after it cropped up in emails published by WikiLeaks in 2016 taken from John Podesta, then the campaign manager to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Tom DeLonge, guitarist and frontman with the pop-punk band Blink-182, claimed in correspondence with Podesta that McCasland had advised him on disclosure practices and on setting up his To The Stars Inc. company, which is dedicated to promoting extraterrestrial matters.
McCasland has never confirmed or denied his involvement in DeLonge’s UFO research.