Officials and the wife of retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen.William “Neil” McCasland have hit back at speculation linking his disappearance to past UFO research and work with a member of rock band Blink-182.
McCasland, 68, went missing on February 27 after leaving his Albuquerque home on foot around 11 a.m., according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. The avid outdoorsman left behind his cellphone, prescription glasses, and wearable devices. His hiking boots, wallet and a .38-caliber revolver in a leather holster, meanwhile, were missing. Authorities also reported finding a U.S. Air Force sweatshirt about a mile from his home, though it has not been confirmed as belonging to him. A Silver Alert and a multi-agency search that now includes the FBI.
Interest in the case has grown, in part, because of McCasland’s past ties to the UFO research community. His wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, said that connection has fueled online misinformation, and denied that he had classified or specialist knowledge about extraterrestrials or UFO programs. McCasland previously led the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Greene County, Ohio, a site which conspiracy theorists have long linked to the 1947 Roswell incident.
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