A retired Air Force major general vanished from his Albuquerque home during a one-hour window, leaving behind his phone and glasses.
Authorities in New Mexico say 68-year-old William “Neil” McCasland vanished Feb. 27 while his wife stepped out briefly for an appointment.
Investigators with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office released a detailed timeline nearly two weeks after the disappearance.
The case has now drawn assistance from the FBI as search teams comb nearby terrain. Detectives say McCasland had one routine interaction that morning before he vanished.
“Our priority is finding Mr. McCasland safely,” said Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen stated. “Our investigators and search teams are working continuously, and we’re coordinating closely with our local, state, and federal partners.”
A home repairman visited the property around 10 a.m., according to investigators. After that meeting, McCasland remained at the house while his wife left for an appointment.
Investigators say the retired general disappeared sometime between 11 a.m. and noon. Authorities believe he left the residence on foot.
Search crews later located several personal items still inside the house. Deputies discovered McCasland’s phone, glasses and wearable devices left behind. Other key belongings remain missing.
Investigators say his wallet, hiking boots and a .38-caliber revolver cannot be located. The missing items have become central to the ongoing investigation.
Authorities say the timeline surrounding those belongings may help determine what happened during the narrow window when he vanished.
Search teams have scoured neighborhoods and open land surrounding the residence. The operation has expanded across the Northeast Heights area and into the nearby Sandia Foothills.
Authorities say McCasland often spent time outdoors in those areas. Friends and neighbors describe him as an avid outdoorsman who frequently hiked, ran and cycled along those trails.
Investigators later discovered a sweatshirt connected to the search. Searchers located a U.S. Air Force sweatshirt more than a mile from McCasland’s home.
Authorities have not confirmed whether the garment belonged to him. Officials continue to examine any potential evidence tied to the clothing.
The sheriff’s office says the case remains active while investigators evaluate every lead.
“While there is currently no evidence indicating foul play, investigators are examining all available information as the case remains active,” the agency wrote in a public update.
Authorities released a description of the clothing McCasland wore the day he vanished.
Investigators say he had on a light green outdoor shirt with a button-down collar and two chest pockets.
Deputies also released physical details to assist with the search. Officials describe McCasland as 5 feet, 11 inches tall with white hair and blue eyes.
Investigators are asking residents near the home to review security video for possible clues.
The sheriff’s office requested footage from homes on Quail Run Court Northeast and nearby streets.
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Authorities want recordings captured between 9 a.m. Feb. 27 and 2 p.m. the following day.
Investigators also expanded the request to people who may have been hiking nearby.
Deputies urged hikers who wore GoPro-style cameras or filmed in the Sandia Foothills to check their recordings.
Officials believe any footage could reveal new information about the missing general’s movements.
Large search efforts have unfolded across the area since the disappearance. Volunteers, friends and neighbors have joined authorities in the effort.
Susan McCasland Wilkerson described the scale of the search in a message shared publicly.
“There has been no indication whatsoever of where he might be,” she wrote.
Wilkerson explained that official search teams and volunteers have spent days covering the region.
Search crews have included people on foot along with horseback teams.
Authorities have also deployed helicopters, drones and several types of search dogs.
Neighbors have canvassed the area while reviewing security cameras and wildlife footage.
Despite the extensive search, investigators have yet to locate the retired general.
Officials issued a Silver Alert for McCasland as the investigation expanded.
His wife addressed speculation about possible health issues.
Wilkerson clarified that McCasland does not suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
The disappearance has also attracted attention because of McCasland’s past military career.
Before retiring in 2013, McCasland served as commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory. The laboratory operates at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
The base previously served as headquarters for a military program that monitored unidentified flying objects from 1947 through 1969.
McCasland’s name surfaced in public discussions after a 2016 release of emails connected to Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. The messages included references to McCasland from musician Tom DeLonge.
DeLonge, founder of the band Blink-182 and an organization known as To The Stars Academy, claimed McCasland advised him on disclosure topics.
Wilkerson pushed back on speculation tying her husband’s disappearance to UFO theories.
“It is true that Neil had a brief association with the UFO community through Tom DeLonge, former frontman for Blink-182 and founder of the organization To The Stars,” Wilkerson wrote.
She explained the relationship involved consulting work connected to a fictional project.
“Neil worked with Tom for a bit shortly after his Air Force retirement as an unpaid (Neil’s choice) consultant on military and technical/scientific matters to lend verisimilitude to Tom’s fiction book and media activities,” she wrote.
Wilkerson also rejected suggestions that classified information could be tied to the disappearance.
“It is true that when Neil was in the Air Force, he had access to some highly classified programs and information,” she wrote. “He retired from the AF almost 13 years ago and has had only very commonly held clearances since.”
She argued that the idea someone would target him for secrets did not make sense.
“It seems quite unlikely that he was taken to extract very dated secrets from him,” she added.
Frustration with the lack of answers has grown as the search continues. Wilkerson even acknowledged the strange rumors circulating online.
“Though at this point with absolutely no sign of him, maybe the best hypothesis is that aliens beamed him up to the mothership,” she wrote. “However, no sightings of a mothership hovering above the Sandia Mountains have been reported.”
Another disappearance case has also drawn attention after investigators identified a missing teenager in New York months after he vanished.
Authorities say 15-year-old Thomas Medlin disappeared Jan. 9 after leaving his Long Island school. Investigators determined the teenager traveled into New York City that evening.
Surveillance cameras later captured him walking along the pedestrian path of the Manhattan Bridge. Police tracked his last movements through digital data.
Authorities say Medlin’s phone registered activity at 7:09 p.m. A nearby camera recorded a splash in the water one minute later at 7:10 p.m.
Investigators determined the teen never exited the bridge through its pedestrian pathways.
Search teams later discovered a body in the water near Red Hook, Brooklyn on March 7. Officials confirmed the identity of the remains as Medlin on March 12.
Family members initially suspected the teen may have traveled to meet someone he encountered through the online game Roblox. Authorities examined that possibility during the investigation.
Detectives reviewed the teenager’s social media and gaming accounts. Officials concluded the online activity had no connection to the disappearance. Police also reported finding no evidence of criminal activity tied to the case.
Roblox officials conducted a separate review of Medlin’s account activity. “Roblox is built with safety at its core, including robust policies to help protect users that go beyond many other platforms,” a company spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
