Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

A retired two-star Air Force general walks out of his Albuquerque home without his phone or glasses. He leaves behind plans for an upcoming ski trip. Then he disappears for more than seven months.

Cue the flashlights, desert sky and low X-Files synth.

Unfortunately, this is not television. William “Neil” McCasland remains the subject of an active missing-person investigation, and the known facts leave far more questions than answers.

A One-Hour Window

McCasland, 68, disappeared from his home near Quail Run Court in northeast Albuquerque on February 27.

Investigators say a repairman interacted with him around 10 a.m. McCasland’s wife left for an appointment at approximately 11:10 a.m. When she returned at 12:04 p.m., he was gone.

That leaves a remarkably small window.

His phone, prescription glasses and wearable devices remained inside the house. Investigators later said his wallet, red backpack, .38-caliber revolver and leather holster remained unaccounted for.

Newly released body-camera footage obtained by KRQE adds another layer.

McCasland’s wife told deputies he had taken a prescribed medication the previous night. That morning, he reportedly described feeling foggy, almost like the aftermath of a bad hangover.

She also showed deputies food, drinks and supplies he had assembled for an upcoming backcountry ski trip with 17 friends. In other words, his home looked like the home of someone planning to return.

So why leave?

Why switch off the phone? Why leave the glasses? And, why walk away during a one-hour window? And what, if anything, should investigators make of the missing revolver?

An Experienced Outdoorsman Leaves No Trail

McCasland was not someone unfamiliar with the New Mexico backcountry. Friends and relatives described him as active, physically capable and comfortable outdoors.

That should have helped searchers. Instead, it made the mystery stranger.

Authorities canvassed more than 700 homes. Search teams used dogs, drones, helicopters and infrared equipment across the foothills and surrounding canyons. The FBI also assisted with interviews, surveillance review and analysis.

The terrain did not cooperate. Warm rocks complicated infrared searches, while cliffs, ravines and hidden pockets created countless places that could conceal an injured person.

Searchers found a gray Air Force sweatshirt about 1.25 miles east of McCasland’s home. Testing reportedly found no blood, and his family could not confirm that it belonged to him. Investigators searched the surrounding area anyway.

No confirmed sighting followed. No obvious trail appeared. Authorities said they had found no evidence pointing to foul play, although they had not ruled anything out.

As of October 1, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office still lists McCasland as missing.

Then There Is the UAP Connection

This is where the spooky music gets louder.

McCasland was no ordinary retiree. He earned a doctorate in astronautical engineering from MIT and held senior positions involving space systems, classified programs and advanced military research.

From 2011 until his 2013 retirement, he commanded the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He oversaw thousands of employees and billions of dollars in research and development. Before that, he served as the Pentagon’s director of special programs and held leadership roles involving space acquisition and the National Reconnaissance Office.

Wright-Patterson also occupies prime real estate in American UFO lore. For decades, believers have claimed the government moved material recovered near Roswell to the Ohio installation.

That history alone would attract speculation. McCasland’s connection to Tom DeLonge poured rocket fuel on it.

In a 2016 email to Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, DeLonge claimed he had worked with McCasland for four months. DeLonge also claimed McCasland helped assemble an advisory team for his UFO-related project.

That email proves DeLonge made the claims. It does not prove McCasland possessed alien hardware, extraterrestrial secrets or a reserved parking spot aboard the mothership.

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McCasland’s wife later said he briefly served as an unpaid consultant for DeLonge’s organization. According to her, he offered military and technical guidance to make DeLonge’s fiction and media projects more realistic.

She also said her husband had no special knowledge about UFO bodies or Roswell debris. He had been retired for nearly 13 years, she noted, making his old classified knowledge increasingly dated.

She even joked that aliens might be the best remaining explanation, while noting that nobody reported a mothership over the Sandia Mountains.

That is probably the healthiest way to handle the UFO angle: acknowledge it, smile at it and demand evidence before believing it.

What Actually Happened?

The ordinary possibilities remain troubling enough.

• Did McCasland suffer an unexpected reaction to medication and become disoriented?
• Did something happen in the rugged terrain beyond his neighborhood?
• Did he deliberately leave and take steps to avoid being tracked?
• Does the missing revolver point toward a personal crisis, or is it simply another item investigators cannot locate?
• Did someone pick him up beyond the view of nearby cameras?
• Or does another person know what happened during that narrow window?

Then comes the question guaranteed to divide readers: Does McCasland’s history with classified aerospace programs and the UAP community deserve serious consideration? Or does it merely make a heartbreaking missing-person case irresistible to the internet?

Seven months later, the public still has no satisfying answer. An accomplished general, scientist and outdoorsman apparently walked away from a life filled with plans. Despite aircraft, dogs, surveillance footage, federal assistance and hundreds of tips, he seemingly left no confirmed trail.

That is strange enough without adding aliens.

Still, this case practically invites questions. What detail stands out to you? The phone and glasses? The medication? The prepared ski supplies? The missing gun? His classified background? Or the complete absence of a confirmed sighting?

What say you?

Anyone with information can contact the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Missing Persons Unit at 505-468-7070. Anonymous tips may be submitted by texting BCSO and the information to 847411.

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