Who Is William Neil McCasland?
Major General William Neil McCasland is the most senior figure in this series. He was born around 1957, grew up in an Air Force family, and attended the US Air Force Academy before earning a master's degree and then a doctorate in astronautical engineering from MIT — the same institution where Nuno Loureiro would later serve as fusion centre director. McCasland's dissertation, on fault-tolerant control of flexible structures, was supervised by Richard Battin, primary designer of the Apollo program guidance computer.
His military career spans some of the most sensitive programs in the US defence establishment. He served in the Payload Systems Division with the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Special Projects. He was chief engineer on the Department of Defense's Global Positioning System (GPS) program. He served as system program director of the Space Based Laser Project Office. He served as director of special programs at the Pentagon.
His final command — from 2011 until his retirement in October 2013 — was as commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, leading billions of dollars in advanced materials science and future weapons research across one of the largest scientific centres in the Department of Defense. AFRL is home to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, which analyses foreign aerospace systems and emerging threats. Wright-Patterson has been associated in declassified documents, congressional testimony, and multiple witness accounts with the receipt and study of materials recovered from unidentified aerial phenomena.
His Connection to UAP Research
Following his retirement, McCasland worked briefly as an unpaid consultant with Tom DeLonge, the Blink-182 musician who co-founded To The Stars Inc., an organisation focused on UAP disclosure. In WikiLeaks emails from John Podesta's account — published in 2016 — DeLonge wrote of McCasland: "I've been working with him for four months... He just has to say that out loud, but he is very, very aware — as he was in charge of all of the stuff."
McCasland's wife Susan McCasland Wilkerson later wrote publicly that her husband's work with DeLonge was limited to consulting on fiction books, and that he had "no special knowledge about the ET bodies and debris from the Roswell crash stored at Wright-Patt." She also noted that McCasland endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, and pushed back against theories that his disappearance was connected to classified information.
Missouri Republican Representative Eric Burlison, who formally requested FBI involvement in the broader case cluster, has stated that McCasland has "a lot of information" on the topic of UAPs.
The Circumstances of His Disappearance
On the morning of 27 February 2026, McCasland left his home in the Quail Run Court NE area of Albuquerque, New Mexico, on foot at approximately 11 a.m. His phone, prescription glasses, and wearable devices remained at the house. Missing with him were his hiking boots, wallet, and a .38 calibre revolver with a leather holster. His wife told emergency dispatchers that she believed he had planned not to be found.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office issued a Silver Alert. Eight days after his disappearance, a grey Air Force sweatshirt was found approximately 1.25 miles from his home. Authorities also recovered hiking boots during the search. His wallet, revolver, holster, and red backpack remained unaccounted for. The FBI became involved in the investigation.
McCasland had reported experiencing mental fog in the period before his disappearance — cited as the reason he had stepped down from various advisory groups he had been involved with. Authorities have not indicated evidence of foul play. His wife stated he does not have dementia.
His disappearance occurred days after President Trump publicly announced on social media that he was directing the Pentagon and other federal agencies to release government records related to extraterrestrial life and UAPs.
— NewsNation, on McCasland's disappearance, April 2026
Why His Case Is Being Scrutinised
McCasland commanded the facility most associated — in public testimony, declassified records, and witness accounts — with the receipt and analysis of UAP-related materials. He was personally referenced in WikiLeaks emails as someone who was "very, very aware" of classified UAP programs. He disappeared from the same city as contractor Steven Garcia, within months of Garcia's own disappearance. He vanished days after the president of the United States ordered UAP files released.
His wife has pushed back on conspiracy theories. Local law enforcement has found no evidence of foul play. But the timing, the background, and the circumstances have placed McCasland at the centre of the public and congressional scrutiny surrounding all ten cases.