Sheriff’s Office Issues Update on Missing USAF Official: Here’s Everything We Know About the Disappearance of Neil McCasland

The search continues for a missing U.S. Air Force official in New Mexico, as authorities prepare to enter their third week investigating the baffling disappearance with few leads.

Friday officially marks two weeks since 68-year-old William “Neil” McCasland, a retired USAF Major General and resident of the Sandia Heights area in greater Albuquerque, New Mexico, was reported missing.

According to McCasland’s wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, he was last seen on the morning of February 27, 2026, before she left home shortly before 11 a.m. for a scheduled medical appointment. By the time she returned home, Neil was no longer at the residence.

Reaching out to family members and friends, none provided any information indicating his whereabouts, and shortly after 3 p.m. on the same afternoon, his wife reported him missing to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

On Thursday, the Office released an updated timeline of events involving the search for McCasland, along with an updated description of what he is believed to have been wearing at the time he disappeared.

The Disappearance of Neil McCasland: What We Know

McCasland was last seen at or near his home near Quail Run Court NE in Sandia Heights on Friday, February 27, 2026.

According to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), a Silver Alert remains in effect as authorities continue searching for the missing retired official, amid requests for any leads members of the public may be able to provide.

McCasland is described as 5’ 11”, approximately 160 lbs, with blue eyes and white hair. He is 68-years-old.

“As the investigation has progressed, BCSO has identified items believed to be unaccounted for from the residence,” the Sheriff’s Office said on Thursday. These items include a light green, long-sleeve button-up “outdoor shirt,” a pair of hiking boots, McCasland’s wallet, and “a .38 caliber revolver with a leather holster.”

The BCSO released an image with Thursday’s announcement in which McCasland was seen wearing the shirt now believed to be among the items missing from his residence.

The BCSO continues to lead the investigation in cooperation with its partner agencies, which include the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, the New Mexico State Police Search and Rescue system, and the FBI Albuquerque Field Office.

Volunteer search teams are also assisting in the search, the BCSO said.

Timeline of Events in the Disappearance of Neil McCasland

According to a verified timeline released by the BCSO this week, a repairman at McCasland’s residence interacted with him on the morning of his disappearance at around 10:00 a.m. local time, making this individual the last person apart from McCasland’s wife to see him before he was reported missing later that afternoon.

At 11:10 a.m., McCasland’s wife left for her medical appointment and returned within a period of one hour, noticing her husband was gone at approximately 12.04 p.m. that afternoon.

Left behind were McCasland’s personal phone and wearable devices, as well as the prescription glasses he is seen wearing in many recent photos released by the BCSO since he was reported missing. With no information about his whereabouts, Mrs. McCasland Wilkerson reached out to friends and family members, none of whom had seen or could provide information about Neil.

Shortly after 3:00 p.m. on Feb. 27, Mrs. McCasland Wilkerson reported Neil missing. According to the BCSO, “the investigation began immediately,” and a Silver Alert was issued.

At the time of McCasland’s disappearance, BCSO stated that “due to his medical issues law enforcement is concerned for his safety.” Since that time, the Sheriff’s Office has affirmed that information it obtained early in the investigation “indicated Mr. McCasland could be at some level of risk” prompting requests for assistance from the public in locating him, although adding that in accordance with privacy laws “BCSO will not release medical details or speculate about his state of mind.”

According to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, all reports of missing persons are investigated regardless of age or other criteria. “Particular care will be exercised in cases of persons who may be considered endangered, mentally or physically impaired, under a doctor’s care, on life-sustaining medication or have been abducted,” a document outlining the Department’s policies and procedures states.

“Additionally, the department holds that every person reported as missing will be considered ‘at risk’ until significant information to the contrary is confirmed,” the document adds.

On March 3, 2026, BCSO issued an update confirming that it was coordinating closely with multiple agencies, as well as “partners at Kirtland Air Force Base to expand outreach and speed information-sharing that may assist in locating Mr. McCasland.”

“Sheriff John Allen, an Honorary Base Commander at Kirtland, is assisting with those coordination efforts,” the March 3 update stated. “Over the past several days, BCSO has utilized significant resources and has conducted extensive efforts that include neighborhood canvassing, follow-up interviews, and coordinated search operations.”

“Specialized assets have been deployed and additional partner agencies are providing assistance,” the March 3 update said, adding that “A full canvas of the neighborhood is underway, and investigators are following up on every credible tip.”

“It is unlike Neil to be out of touch from his family and friends for this length of time,” the BCSO said in an update three days later on March 6, 2026, marking one week since McCasland was first reported missing, adding that “we have not given up hope.”

In its March 6 update, the BCSO added that authorities believed McCasland “to have left his residence on foot,” adding that he is known to be “an avid outdoorsman” and to frequently “hike, run, and cycle in the Northeast Heights and the Sandia foothills.”

The following day, on Saturday, March 7, a gray U.S. Air Force sweatshirt was found by investigators assisting in the search at a location approximately 1.25 miles east of McCasland’s residence. Authorities said the item was collected and processed, and that there was no sign of blood, indications of foul play, or anything that immediately linked the article of clothing to McCasland that could be discerned at that time.

“The sweatshirt has not been confirmed by family or friends to be associated with Mr. McCasland,” the BCSO said, although adding that its discovery “prompted an additional targeted search effort in the area.”

Current State of the Search

According to the BCSO’s Thursday update, the Sheriff’s Office continues to follow any leads it receives, and the case remains active entering the third week of investigations.

“Investigators have expanded a neighborhood canvass to more than 700 homes, requesting security video and information,” the BCSO statement read. “Additional search efforts have included drone operations, helicopter support, ground searches with Search and Rescue teams, and K 9 searches.”

Despite the widespread search effort, BCSO confirmed on Thursday that it has received no confirmed sighting reports of McCasland, nor any video that appears to show him leaving the vicinity of his home, or providing any indications of where he might have gone.

“Search efforts and investigative follow up are ongoing,” The BCSO statement added.

Presently, authorities are asking the public to review footage obtained by home security cameras or other surveillance systems in the Sandia Heights and surrounding areas, particularly that which was obtained on Friday, February 27, and Saturday, February 28, with a focus on footage recorded between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on those dates. Authorities have requested footage from around the vicinity of Quail Run Court NE “and routes leading away from the neighborhood.”

Additional requests for video footage obtained by hikers, recreational cyclists, drone operators, or others in the area have also been requested.

“If you were in the foothills or on trails February 27 to 28, please review any GoPro or phone footage and submit anything that may help,” the BCSO said on Thursday.

Speaking last week, Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said that his teams have worked around the clock searching for clues that could lead to information about McCasland’s whereabouts.

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

“We will share confirmed updates as soon as we can while protecting the integrity of the investigation,” Allen said.

Speculations Complicate the Investigation

While requesting any information from members of the public that may lead to information about McCasland’s whereabouts, authorities have also repeatedly warned against premature conclusions and speculation about the retired USAF official’s disappearance.

“There are people who attempt to develop their own theories based on the limited information available to the public and this makes finding Neil harder,” a BSCO statement dated March 6, 2026, read.

In the past, McCasland was known to have had brief associations with individuals involved in transparency efforts related to what the military now calls unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UFOs.

Specifically, in 2016, a collection of emails from the account of John Podesta—then chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign—was published by WikiLeaks following a data breach attributed to the Russian-linked hacking group Fancy Bear. Among the messages was an email sent by musician and UFO advocate Tom DeLonge to Podesta, discussing the possibility of bringing McCasland to Podesta’s office to discuss UFO-related topics.

“[McCasland] not only knows what I’m trying to achieve, he helped assemble my advisory team,” DeLonge told Podesta. “He’s a very important man.”

The information conveyed by DeLonge in Podesta’s leaked emails generated significant public interest, especially considering McCasland’s time overseeing the Air Force Research Laboratory, a role that placed him at the center of some of the U.S. military’s most sensitive scientific and technological initiatives.

McCasland completed graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, after which he served in the Secretary of the Air Force’s Office of Special Projects at Los Angeles Air Force Base, where he worked on highly classified payload and satellite programs. He later returned to MIT to complete his doctorate before continuing his work in advanced space and defense technologies. In the 1990s and early 2000s, his work included a position as chief engineer with the Navstar GPS Joint Program Office at Los Angeles AFB, before leading the Space Based Laser program office and directing the Space Vehicles Directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base. Several of these assignments involved collaboration with agencies such as the National Reconnaissance Office.

McCasland went on to hold senior oversight roles at the Pentagon, which included serving as executive secretary of the Special Access Program Oversight Committee, supervising some of the nation’s most highly classified programs. His final assignment came in 2011 when he assumed leadership of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where he oversaw billions of dollars in advanced research and development before retiring in 2013.

McCasland’s Wife Speaks

Given his past official work and short association with Tom DeLonge, it is not hard to understand why unfounded speculations have circulated online about whether McCasland’s leadership position overseeing some of the United States military’s most sensitive programs could be related to his disappearance.

In a statement released by McCasland’s wife on social media, Mrs. McCasland Wilkerson said that while it was true that her husband had been associated with UFOs through his brief work with Tom DeLonge, this had occurred after his retirement from the Air Force, at which time she says Neil merely provided consultation “on military and technical/scientific matters to lend verisimilitude to Tom’s fiction book and media activities.” At the retired official’s request, McCasland was not compensated for these consultations, Mrs. McCasland Wilkerson added.

“After the Russians hacked John Podesta’s emails … there was less contact with Tom and the community pushing for release of UFO information,” Mrs. McCasland Wilkerson’s statement added. “This connection is not a reason for someone to abduct Neil.”

McCasland’s wife also addressed the speculations that her husband may have been targeted due to his alleged knowledge of high-level U.S. military secrets related to UFOs.

“Neil does not have any special knowledge about the ET bodies and debris from the Roswell crash stored at Wright-Patt,” Mrs. McCasland Wilkerson said, though that “at this point with absolutely no sign of him, maybe the best hypothesis is that aliens beamed him up to the mothership.”

Authorities Continue Seeking Information

As the search continues, authorities have reiterated their hope that there may be residents in the Sandia Heights area who observed McCasland around the time of his disappearance, or who otherwise could have information that may prove crucial to locating him.

“We are asking for your help in finding him,” the BCSO said. “We believe there are people who have information valuable to locating Neil who have not yet spoken to law enforcement.”

“Sometimes people have information but do not come forward because they feel it may not be important,” the BSCO added in its statement last week.

“Regardless of how insignificant you think your information might be, or whether you think we are already aware of it, please contact us and allow us to make that determination.”

Law enforcement has asked anyone with information to contact the sheriff’s office Missing Persons Unit or submit tips through official reporting channels.

Anyone with information related to McCasland’s disappearance is advised to text BCSO to 847411, or you to contact the sheriff’s Missing Persons Unit directly by phone at 505-468-7070.

Information may also be uploaded directly online using the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office NM Evidence Submission Portal.

Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.