NM - Retired Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, who led Air Force Research Laboratory, Bernalillo County, 27 February 2026

[Han]

In an interesting twist the other Air Force vet who went missing around the same time as General McCasland has been found safe.

Ouray man who was missing for nearly 2 weeks found safe

An Ouray man who was missing for around two weeks has been found safe and well, the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office announced on Monday.

www.westernslopenow.com

Ouray County Sheriff’s Office stated it is not sharing any more details about the incident, citing respect for Tarango’s privacy.

 

[diggndeeperstill]

What are your thoughts on the mention of being seen at 10 with the repairman? Did wife not see him after that? I know she left at 11, but seems weird to say “seen with at 10” or maybe it’s just giving mention of someone other than the wife.

BCSO (Sheriff) NM
@BCSONM



Updated Timeline and Description in Search for William “Neil” McCasland


BCSO is releasing the following verified timeline to provide clarity on what is known. On February 27 at approximately 10:00 a.m., a repairman was at the residence and interacted with Mr. McCasland. At approximately 11:10 a.m., Mrs. McCasland Wilkerson left the home for a medical appointment. At approximately 12:04 p.m., she returned home and Mr. McCasland was not there. His phone, prescription glasses, and wearable devices were located at the residence. Mrs. McCasland Wilkerson began attempting to locate Mr. McCasland and contacted family and friends. At approximately 3:07 p.m., she reported him missing and the investigation began immediately.As the investigation has progressed, BCSO has identified items believed to be unaccounted for from the residence. Investigators believe Mr. McCasland may have been wearing the shirt shown in the attached photo.

The photo depicts Mr. McCasland wearing a light green, long sleeve button-up outdoor shirt. Additional items believed to be missing include his hiking boots, wallet, and a .38 caliber revolver with a leather holster. Investigators also located a gray U.S. Air Force sweatshirt approximately 1.25 miles east of the residence on Saturday, March 7. The item was collected and processed. No blood was detected during initial processing, and additional analysis is pending. The sweatshirt has not been confirmed by family or friends to be associated with Mr. McCasland; however, it prompted an additional targeted search effort in the area.BCSO continues to pursue all credible leads and follow up on every tip received. While there is currently no evidence indicating foul play, investigators are examining all available information as the case remains active. Investigators have expanded a neighborhood canvass to more than 700 homes, requesting security video and information.

Additional search efforts have included drone operations, helicopter support, ground searches with Search and Rescue teams, and K 9 searches. To date, BCSO has not received any confirmed sighting or confirmed video showing Mr. McCasland leaving the area or indicating a direction of travel. Search efforts and investigative follow up are ongoing.The Silver Alert was issued based on information available early in the investigation that indicated Mr. McCasland could be at some level of risk and that additional public assistance was needed to locate him. Due to privacy laws, BCSO will not release medical details or speculate about his state of mind.


BCSO is again asking anyone in the area to check and submit security camera footage from Friday, February 27 and Saturday, February 28, particularly between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. in and around Quail Run Court NE and routes leading away from the neighborhood. 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.

As the search for retired Air Force General William Neil McCasland continues in its second week, authorities in New Mexico are set to give an update Monday. https://www.newsnationnow.com/missi...ate-search-missing-retired-air-force-general/

 

[Trino]

I worry about the mental fog accompanying his age. Not necessarily due to something chronic like undiagnosed dementia, but it can also be from side effects of medications if he started any new ones recently. If he was becoming depressed, as many aging, retired folks experience at times due to boredom (after a long working life) and existential issues ('is this all there is?'), and for example, he started SSRIs, those tend to facilitate brain fog initially. In rare but significant cases, they can also worsen depression before helping it, and can bring about thoughts of harm to self/others (and/or general dysphoric states that can create a lot of ruminating/obsessive thoughts along those lines). Other medications for other physiological conditions can also facilitate brain fog, so hopefully they are looking into those.

In any case, I hope that isn't what occurred and that he is okay wherever he is.

JMO.

The sheriff’s office says they issued a Silver Alert because McCasland had once reported being in a “mental fog.” However, investigators don’t believe he was cognitively impaired and say he was in good health.

“There’s no indication, and we are not putting forward that Mr. McCasland was disoriented or confused,” said Lt. Kyle Woods of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. “Arguably, he would still be the most intelligent person in the room that any of us would be in. Highly intelligent, highly capable, but that information was given to us early on, and out of an abundance of caution, we escalated to a silver alert to try to garner as much public attention as possible to try to help locate him as soon as possible.” Source: newsnationnow.com Mar 16, 2026

 

[RedHaus]

Video Description: Missing Air Force General was Experiencing Brain Fog for Months: Police | Elizabeth Vargas Reporting [News Nation]

[Transcript of video available in the video post]

 

[waldojabba]

RSBM
Well, I listened to nearly all the presser except the very beginning, and during Q&A more was stated by LE about Neil's "mental fog".

My take is as I stated in my key point summary ^. It was not just once. The 'mental fog' had been ongoing for a few months and caused Neil to withdraw from several 'groups' he participated in.

Perhaps we have a cracker-jack transcriber here.

Further, from the Cleveland Clinic article I subsequently posted, someone can have Brain Fog and may also be in good physical health without cognitivel impairment. But I imagine having "mental fog" would feel debilitating, especially for such a bright mind as Neil's.

Always good to have a link so I have pasted that link for the presser earlier today below. Its a good listen and I recommend it - only about a half hour-ish.

For me - Listening/taking notes/writing this out have been helpeful to me. We all hear and perceive things different and find importance in different nuggets. Part of what's always been great about websleuths.

The Sheriff and his lieutenant spoke (with a quick appearance by fbi agent Justin G. during questions from the press).

I did not see anywhere on this youtube vid a place to make a print out /transcription but it could be there.

The Lieutenant does say that the General had removed himself from a few groups/boards due to mental fog.

They also reiterate that they found the green shirt and hiking boots in Pagosa at the second home. Did he have a duplicate of both? noone knows. He had not been to their home in Pagosa Colo in a while

Re the mental/brain fog - just my take :
I think its important to mention here imo we have no idea what they mean by mental fog.
I do not believe they have defined it ?
As an example, after I had radiation for something above the neck I experienced "mental or brain fog", as the neurologist labelled it. It was not constant and mostly had to do with me being in the middle of a conversation and not finding words. It lasted a few months and then left. It was significant enough to me to cut back a bit on work but noone else particularly noticed it.
So I am not jumping to any conclusions based on "mental fog" just yet.

Other things I personally found of note :

He was not experiencing depression or talking of suicide ( of course its impossible to know what was actually happening inside his head). No signs of confusion or disorientation.

What they think he has with him - the red backpack/wallet/38 calibre gun ( there is a pic during the presser of him with the backpack on - fairly large and looks to be able to hold quite a few things imo. Odd choice for a day hike imo)

They have spoken to the repair person and that person has been cleared. That has been nagging at me so I was glad to hear that.

It was def abnormal for him NOT to take his phone and wearables

They have not confirmed anything as far as sightings - there have been none ... still asking for any camera footage - they canvassed 700 homes in the area and came up with nothing - they have used drones helicopters K9 etc which we know and nothing concrete yet - are we four weeks in ?

They have received around 80 tips and fbi has forwarded over about 5-10 - he was not clear on the exact numbers so approx

They cannot rule anything out but are pursuing facts only at this time - going down no "rabbit holes"

The FBI did send people to assist in any way the sheriff needed. ( interviews/analysis/ Behavorial Analysis Unit/geo maps

The question was asked about whether they knew of any enemy's the General may have had - and they said he was very well liked and no one had a bad thing to say. They also indicated he was a regimented man.

The wife has not spoken publically and has not asked the Sheriff to make any comment on her behalf.

ALL JMO

 

[3llecia]

My personal experience of brain fog, lasting months, would amount to a state of cognitive and emotional exhaustion.

If you’re highly intelligent, it feels like you’ve lost the thing you most value about yourself, which is higher-order reasoning, curiosity, information retrieval and retention. It can lead to an existential crisis.

It’s not like depression in the first few months, because you’re putting effort into finding the cause and returning to a higher level of functioning. But it will likely lead to depression if it’s unresolved or there’s no clear cause and solution found.

The mind feels blocked, and stuck focusing on more basic, short-term needs, and can’t stay focused on complex issues.

If he experienced something similar, it makes so much sense that he wound back his commitments as a practical measure.

But again, withdrawing from commitments can feel like a heavy loss if you’re highly valued for your work, and it may compound feelings of isolation and irrelevance.

The wallet is missing, which might go against the idea that he’s gone on his terms. But I’ve also read other WS threads involving missing military personnel, and how taking ID is very habitualised during service. I suspect leaving the wallet would be more abnormal.

 

[Serononin]

I wonder if he had a viral infection at all over the past few months? Brain fog is a very common symptom of both ME/CFS and Long Covid

 

[Trino]

I worry about the mental fog accompanying his age. Not necessarily due to something chronic like undiagnosed dementia, but it can also be from side effects of medications if he started any new ones recently. If he was becoming depressed, as many aging, retired folks experience at times due to boredom (after a long working life) and existential issues ('is this all there is?'), and for example, he started SSRIs, those tend to facilitate brain fog initially. In rare but significant cases, they can also worsen depression before helping it, and can bring about thoughts of harm to self/others (and/or general dysphoric states that can create a lot of ruminating/obsessive thoughts along those lines). Other medications for other physiological conditions can also facilitate brain fog, so hopefully they are looking into those.

In any case, I hope that isn't what occurred and that he is okay wherever he is.

JMO.

On another note brain fog in elderly (and young children) can develop after the use of anesthesia. Not permanent, just inconvenient. I had this for over a week, could not remember names of simple items or words to convey my thoughts.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

"There’s no indication, and we are not putting forward that Mr. McCasland was disoriented, confused," Woods said. "Arguably, he would still be the most intelligent person in the room that any of us would be in. Highly intelligent, highly capable, but that information was given to us early on, and out of an abundance of caution, we escalated to a Silver Alert to try to garner as much public attention as possible to try to help locate him as soon as possible

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. "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."

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2026/03/17/us-air-force-general-william-neil-mccasland-wright-patterson-commander-dayton-ohio-ufo/89191960007/

 

[StarryStarryNight]

This is the first time I have seen that he took a firearm.

Because he left his watch and phone at home, I have been concerned that he might have been planning self-harm. Now that I see that he also left his prescription glasses at home and took a revolver with him, I am even more concerned that it was self-harm. The only thing that doesn't fit in with that is that he took his wallet.

I agree with you.
Learning about the gun is a game changer.
Maybe he took his wallet to ensure identification.

 

[RedHaus]

I agree with you.
Learning about the gun is a game changer.
Maybe he took his wallet to ensure identification.

And as an OP opined yesterday, ^, folks in the military can be habituated into having their ID with them at all times.

 

[marcyjoy]

I have been reading the replies with great interest. Regarding the Silver Alert and "Brain Fog", if I am being honest, if my husband was missing and I thought a Silver Alert would be helpful, I might "overestimate" some of the way he was acting in order to have him fit the criteria. Just a thought. It seems that when pressed on the reason for the Silver Alert, it was downplayed and then explained with something seeming minor. My husband often forgets his wallet, keys, phone, somewhere at least once a week. I am positive if I was urgently wanting to get resources to help find him, I could manipulate that forgetfulness into something else.

MOO

 

[imstilla.grandma]

As part of the search, authorities flew a helicopter equipped with infrared cameras over the cliffs and canyons near his home at night, hoping to spot him by his heat signature. But the unseasonably warm spring turned the landscape against them.

"The mountain was just lit up like a candle," Lt. Kyle Woods of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office said at a news conference Monday. "We couldn't differentiate from heat signatures and the heat from the rocks."

Asked if authorities believe something nefarious may have happened, Woods said, "We haven't ruled anything out, but we have nothing pointing to it either."

What McCasland did and didn't take with him has become central to the investigation. Woods said it was uncommon for McCasland to leave without his phone or wearable devices, both of which were found at his home.

McCasland has a second home in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, about 35 miles north of the New Mexico border and roughly 200 miles from his Albuquerque home. There, investigators recovered a light green long-sleeve button-up shirt and hiking boots, according to the sheriff's office.

A retired general vanished from his home. An unseasonably warm spring is making him harder to find

An experienced hiker and avid outdoorsman, William Neil McCasland isn't the typical missing person

abc7.com

 

[waldojabba]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2034077910647046600

 

[whitelilac]

I've been following and keep checking here.

McCasland is a brilliant individual, and had an illustrious career in science and technology, space research and was in charge of some $2 billion worth of research and development, plus his involvement in UFO programs.

I think an individual who displays exceptional talent and intelligence would also have the capacity for deep reflection, for contemplating the bigger questions about humanity, existence, creation, the cosmos etc. And world affairs, especially the present turmoil and future consequences.

I fear that he has had enough, and IF indeed his health was suffering (though not physically as he is fit) particularly with the brain fog issues which would incapacitate his thinking capabilities, he may have wanted to leave the world.

That he took his gun and ID only, no phone or way to communicate, I think this is what happened.
It's so sad, ...hope I am wrong...hence I still regard him in the present tense

 

[Snoopster]

I don't have much to add, but just wanted to agree with other thoughts posted here about the challenges both retirement from a highly successful career combined with losing your mental edge if you are a highly intelligent person. Pulling back from some groups, which were likely giving his some fulfillment in retirement, could be devastating to him.

Where are you Mr. McCasland? People are so, so worried about you.

 

[Swansee]

Whether this is suicide or foul play or even an accident, he would have had to exit the house at some point. And apparently there is no footage of him leaving his house or neighborhood.
So that's the part I just can't wrap my head around.
There are cameras. The footage has been recovered by LE.
No matter what may have happened to him he had to leave/be taken from the house at some point. There are cameras in his street. He's not seen on any of the footage.

 

[dennistakes14theteam]

So I made a comment yesterday regarding a possible link between this case and Monica reza but it was deleted - so are we allowed to sleuth or not, can someone please explain it to me like I’m 5!

 

[ChatteringBirds]

...

There are cameras in his street. He's not seen on any of the footage.

In my opinion we overestimate the likelihood of someone being seen on camera in the average neighborhood. People might have their cameras covering only their immediate property. Perhaps it's quite easy to leave his house and be in nature away from cameras pretty quickly?

 

[Han]

A former colleague of missing Air Force Gen. William Mccasland disappeared while hiking months before him, according to authorities.

“We don’t know whether or not these missing persons cases are connected at this point, but I did tip off the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department about it, asked if this was a lead that they were investigating and we’re still waiting to hear back,” NewsNation’s Alex Caprariello said.
William McCasland search: Ex-colleague vanished months before him
In a March 6 release, the sheriff’s office said it hadn’t uncovered any evidence of foul play but was still considering all possible scenarios.