Retired Air Force major general missing for weeks: What we know about his mysterious disappearance

Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. William N. McCasland (U.S. Air Force)

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) — The search is intensifying for a missing retired Air Force general weeks after he mysteriously disappeared in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Retired Maj. Gen. William N. “Neil” McCasland, 68, was last seen at his Albuquerque home on Feb. 27, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

At 10 a.m. that day, a repairman was at McCasland’s home and interacted with him, Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said at a news conference on Monday. At 11:10 a.m., McCasland’s wife left the house for a medical appointment, and when she returned home at 12:04 p.m., he wasn’t there, the sheriff said. She reported him missing at 3:07 p.m., the sheriff said.

McCasland “did state that he was experiencing a mental fog” and was looking into it, Allen said.

“That was his statement about what he was experiencing, that was cited as reasons for stepping down from some groups that he was working with,” Lt. Kyle Woods added.

“There’s no indication … that Mr. McCasland was disoriented, confused,” Woods continued. “Arguably, he would still be the most intelligent person in the room.”

There have been no confirmed videos or sightings showing McCasland’s direction of travel, Allen said.

His phone was left behind at the house, which is out of the norm, authorities said.

Everyone in the area has been interviewed, Woods said, adding, “we have absolutely nothing that would suggest anything nefarious has occurred.”

Hundreds of homes in the area were canvassed as authorities looked for surveillance footage, the sheriff said, and drones, helicopters and canines have been used in the search.

A gray U.S. Air Force sweatshirt was found about 1.25 miles east of McCasland’s house, but family and friends have not confirmed that the sweatshirt is associated with McCasland, Allen said. No blood was detected in the initial processing, the sheriff added.

McCasland held a number of “space research, acquisition and operations roles within the Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office” while enlisted, according to the Air Force. The roles included director-level positions at the Pentagon, as well as commanding the Phillips Research Site of Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, according to the Air Force.

Still unaccounted for is McCasland’s wallet, a .38 caliber revolver and leather holster, and a red backpack, the sheriff said.

The sheriff asked residents to check their surveillance videos, with the priority focused on Feb. 27 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Tips can be submitted at 505-468-7070, the sheriff said.