BCSO releases new timeline on missing retired Air Force general

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BCSO releases new timeline on missing retired Air Force general | 10

McCasland, a retired U.S. Air Force general, has been missing since Feb. 27, 2026. He was last seen at his home in the area of Quail Run Court NE.

A timeline from BCSO reveals McCasland interacted with a repairman around 10 a.m. on Feb. 27. His wife returned home at 12:04 p.m. to find him missing. His phone and glasses were left behind, and he was reported missing at 3:07 p.m.

BCSO has identified missing items, including hiking boots and a .38 caliber revolver. A gray U.S. Air Force sweatshirt found nearby prompted further searches, though it’s not confirmed to be his.

BCSO has expanded its neighborhood canvass to over 700 homes, seeking security footage. Despite extensive searches, no confirmed sightings or videos of McCasland have emerged.

A Silver Alert was issued due to potential risk. BCSO asks nearby residents to review footage from Feb. 27-28 and submit any relevant material.

Tips can be submitted to the BCSO Missing Persons Unit at 505-468-7070 or anonymously via Tip411.

BREAKING: Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, Still Missing Nearly Three Weeks After Vanishing From Albuquerque Home – New Timeline Raises More Questions

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Retired U.S. Air Force Major General William “Neil” McCasland walked out of his home in the foothills of Albuquerque on the morning of Feb. 27, 2026, and has not been seen since. What began as a one-hour window of disappearance has now stretched into a 17-day mystery involving the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, volunteer search teams, and a statewide Silver Alert that remains active.

According to the official timeline released by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office this week, the sequence of events is chillingly narrow. At approximately 10:00 a.m., a repairman was at the residence on Quail Run Court NE and briefly interacted with McCasland. At 11:10 a.m., his wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, left for a medical appointment. When she returned at 12:04 p.m., her husband was gone. His cell phone, prescription glasses, and wearable devices were still inside the house. Investigators believe his wallet, hiking boots, and a .38-caliber revolver with leather holster are missing. He was reported missing at 3:07 p.m. that same day.

No evidence of foul play has been found. No ransom demand. No security camera footage has surfaced showing him leaving the property. Yet the 68-year-old former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory — a man who once oversaw a $4.4 billion science and technology portfolio and held Top Secret clearances — simply vanished on foot in broad daylight.

The search has been exhaustive. Deputies have canvassed more than 700 homes. Drones have scanned the rugged Sandia foothills. K-9 teams and New Mexico State Police Search and Rescue volunteers have covered miles of trails. On March 7, searchers located a gray U.S. Air Force sweatshirt more than a mile east of the home. No blood was detected, and authorities have not confirmed it belonged to McCasland. The FBI Albuquerque Field Office is assisting with “tools, tactics, and techniques,” though the sheriff’s office stresses this remains a missing-person investigation, not a criminal one.

McCasland’s wife has taken to Facebook to push back against what she calls “misinformation” swirling online. In a detailed post, Susan McCasland Wilkerson addressed rumors linking her husband to UFO conspiracies. “Neil had a brief, unpaid association with the UFO community through Tom DeLonge shortly after his retirement,” she wrote. “He worked as a consultant on military and technical matters for a fiction book and media project. That is the extent of it.” She also denied speculation that McCasland suffered from dementia or received a disturbing phone call that morning. Officials have confirmed he has an unspecified medical condition that prompted the urgency of the Silver Alert, but have not elaborated.

The general’s military résumé is nothing short of extraordinary. Commissioned in 1979 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a degree in astronautical engineering, McCasland earned a master’s and a Ph.D. in the same field from MIT under a prestigious Hertz Fellowship. His 34-year career spanned space research, acquisition, and operations. He served at the National Reconnaissance Office, directed the Space Based Laser Project, commanded the Phillips Research Site at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, and rose to Vice Commander of both the Ogden Air Logistics Center and the Space and Missile Systems Center.

In 2011 he took command of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio — the very installation long rumored in conspiracy circles to house “Hangar 18” and debris from the 1947 Roswell incident. As commander, McCasland managed a global workforce of 10,800 people and an annual budget exceeding $4 billion. He oversaw everything from hypersonic weapons research to advanced satellite technology. He retired in 2013 with a chest full of medals: the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and multiple Meritorious Service Medals.

His expertise in classified space programs has fueled online speculation. Some have suggested foreign intelligence involvement or even that “he knew too much.” Retired FBI agent Steve Moore, speaking on CNN, dismissed such theories: “This looks like a search, not a criminal investigation. We have to focus on the medical aspect and the terrain.”

The Sandia Mountains that rise dramatically behind McCasland’s neighborhood are beautiful but unforgiving. Steep trails, sudden weather changes, and altitude can disorient even experienced hikers. Did the general — known to enjoy the outdoors — simply head out for a walk and suffer a medical event? Did he take his revolver for protection and then lose his way? Or was this a deliberate disappearance?

Authorities have appealed to the public for any security camera footage from Feb. 27 or 28. Neighbors are asked to check Ring and doorbell cameras. The sheriff’s office released a photo of a light green long-sleeve button-up shirt they believe he may have been wearing, along with his description: 5 feet 11 inches tall, 210 pounds, white hair, blue eyes, and a mustache.

As the search enters its third week, the family’s anguish is palpable. Susan McCasland Wilkerson thanked well-wishers across the country but pleaded for patience: “All the thoughts and prayers are much appreciated. I will update if and when any real information comes in.”

For a man who spent his life pushing the boundaries of American aerospace technology, the silence is deafening. No phone signal. No credit-card activity. No sightings. The same analytical mind that once directed billion-dollar space programs is now the subject of a different kind of mission — one measured not in satellites or lasers, but in footsteps and hope.

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office continues to coordinate with state and federal partners. Anyone with information is urged to call the dedicated tip line or submit footage through the sheriff’s website. The Silver Alert remains active.

Until Neil McCasland is found — whether walking out of the foothills or carried on a stretcher — the questions will linger in the thin mountain air above Albuquerque. What happened in that one-hour window on Feb. 27? And why has one of the Air Force’s most accomplished generals disappeared without a trace?