William Neil McCasland

Updated March 4, 2026 – New details added from the ongoing search, including a possible sighting, FBI involvement, and statements from the sheriff’s office and McCasland’s wife.

William Neil McCasland is a retired United States Air Force Major General who commanded some of the military’s most advanced research programs. On February 27, 2026, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office issued a Silver Alert after McCasland was reported missing from his home near Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was 68 years old at the time of his disappearance. The Silver Alert cited medical concerns as the basis for the alert.

McCasland’s name had already become familiar to anyone following UAP disclosure. In 2016, WikiLeaks published a trove of emails from John Podesta’s personal account – and several of those emails placed McCasland at the center of an informal effort to brief senior political figures on unidentified aerial phenomena.

Background

McCasland’s military career spanned more than three decades and included command of some of the Air Force’s most sensitive technology portfolios. He served as commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, where he oversaw a $4 billion annual research portfolio and more than 10,000 personnel across multiple facilities. AFRL is the Air Force’s primary scientific research organization, responsible for developing technologies that range from directed energy weapons to advanced aerospace materials.

Prior to AFRL, McCasland commanded the Phillips Research Site at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque – a facility with deep historical ties to nuclear weapons research, directed energy programs, and the Air Force’s space technology divisions. He also held positions with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the intelligence agency responsible for designing, building, and operating U.S. reconnaissance satellites.

McCasland retired from active duty in 2013 and settled in the Albuquerque area, where he had spent a significant portion of his career. After retirement, he held private-sector positions including director of technology at Applied Technology Associates. Friends describe him as physically fit and an avid outdoorsman – his Facebook page is filled with photos of skiing and hiking in the mountains of New Mexico, and he recently completed a 60-mile bike ride. He is known to frequent the La Luz trail and nearby trail systems.

What Happened

On February 27, 2026, McCasland was last seen around 11 a.m. local time near his residence on Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque. Friends noted that he left home without his watch or phone – unusual behavior for a man known for his disciplined routines. His wife, Susan McCasland, posted on Facebook that he “vanished midday on Friday” and added that it “does not seem to have been foul play at all.”

When he could not be located, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office activated a Silver Alert – a public notification system used for missing persons who are elderly or have cognitive or medical conditions that place them at risk. The alert cited medical concerns without elaborating on specifics.

A possible sighting emerged shortly afterward. A woman named Mj Davis reported to authorities – and posted in the Albuquerque Trail Running Crew Facebook group – that she may have seen someone matching McCasland’s description near the Whitewash trailhead in Piedra Lisa Canyon around the same time he went missing. She said the man was standing off to the side near a bridge over the arroyo at the start of the trail. The BCSO responded in the same thread, directing users to report tips to investigators, but did not publicly dispute the sighting.

New Mexico Search and Rescue confirmed that teams searched the Albuquerque Open Space area from Sunday through Monday. The FBI Albuquerque Field Office confirmed its involvement, stating 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.” The BCSO remains the lead agency.

On Tuesday, March 4, the BCSO issued a statement saying it was coordinating with partners at Kirtland Air Force Base to expand outreach and speed information-sharing. Sheriff John Allen stated: “Our priority is finding Mr. McCasland safely. Our investigators and search teams are working continuously, and we’re coordinating closely with our local, state, and federal partners.” The office asked the public to check and preserve any security camera footage from the area.

Colonel Justin Secrest, commander of the 377th Air Base Wing at Kirtland AFB, confirmed that the installation was coordinating with local law enforcement. “Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time,” Secrest said.

As of March 4, 2026, the case remains open and McCasland has not been located. No connection between his disappearance and his prior involvement in UAP-related matters has been established by any official source.

What Doesn’t Add Up

The circumstances of the disappearance are, on their face, consistent with a medical emergency involving a 68-year-old retiree. What makes the case notable is the identity of the missing person and the unanswered questions that preceded his disappearance.

McCasland was not a peripheral figure in UAP discussions. The WikiLeaks emails – published in 2016 as part of the broader Podesta email release – showed that Tom DeLonge, former Blink-182 vocalist turned UAP researcher, was in direct contact with both McCasland and John Podesta, then a senior adviser to the Obama White House. DeLonge described McCasland as a central figure in his effort to assemble a team of insiders willing to support a public disclosure initiative.

McCasland never publicly confirmed or denied his role. He made no public statements about the emails. He gave no interviews. For a decade, he remained silent – a silence that itself became a subject of speculation within the UAP research community.

His disappearance occurred during a period of heightened activity around UAP disclosure, including congressional hearings, new whistleblower protections, and ongoing debate about legacy programs involving retrieved materials.

Key Quotes

“He [General McCasland] just has to be careful. He can’t be seen as supporting this stuff. But he’s been ahead of me the whole time.”

– Tom DeLonge, email to John Podesta, January 25, 2016 (WikiLeaks email ID 3099)

“General McCasland… helped assemble my advisory team. He’s a very important man.”

– Tom DeLonge, email to John Podesta, 2016 (WikiLeaks email ID 2125)

A separate email in the Podesta archive showed McCasland directly coordinating a meeting with Podesta and CC’ing Rob Weiss, then a vice president at Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs – better known as Skunk Works. The inclusion of a senior Skunk Works executive in correspondence with the White House adviser and a two-star general, on a thread initiated by a UAP advocate, has never been publicly explained.

“Our priority is finding Mr. McCasland safely. Our investigators and search teams are working continuously, and we’re coordinating closely with our local, state, and federal partners.”

– Sheriff John Allen, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, March 4, 2026

“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.”

– FBI Albuquerque Field Office spokesperson, March 2026

“[It] does not seem to have been foul play at all.”

– Susan McCasland, Facebook post, February 2026

Sources

1. “Silver Alert issued for missing Albuquerque man,” Albuquerque Journal, February 28, 2026.
2. “Missing Air Force general linked to UFO emails,” Fox News, March 1, 2026.
3. “UFO-linked Air Force general’s disappearance takes mysterious new twist amid ‘sighting’ in New Mexico,” Daily Mail, March 4, 2026. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15610785/ufo-william-neil-mccasland-disappearance-albuquerque.html
4. WikiLeaks, Podesta Emails, Email ID 3099 – DeLonge to Podesta, January 25, 2016. https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/3099
5. WikiLeaks, Podesta Emails, Email ID 2125 – DeLonge to Podesta, 2016. https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/2125
6. Air Force Research Laboratory, official biography of Maj. Gen. William N. McCasland. https://www.afrl.af.mil
7. 377th Air Base Wing public affairs statement, February 2026.
8. Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office statement, March 4, 2026.
9. FBI Albuquerque Field Office statement, March 2026.