ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO – Retired U.S. Air Force Major General William “Neil” McCasland has now been missing for two weeks after disappearing from his northeast Albuquerque home on the morning of February 27, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies say the 68‑year‑old left home on foot, and a Silver Alert was issued the same day due to unspecified medical concerns.
BCSO says there is no evidence of foul play, but investigators have not been able to determine what happened after McCasland left his neighborhood. The search now includes local, state, and federal agencies, including the FBI Albuquerque Field Office.
Sheriff John Allen said teams are working continuously and urged residents to check security footage from the morning he disappeared.
Investigators believe McCasland may have been in the Sandia Mountains or foothills on February 27 or 28. He is described as an avid outdoorsman who regularly hiked, ran, and cycled in the Northeast Heights area.
McCasland is 5’11” with white hair and blue eyes. Deputies have canvassed the neighborhood and followed up on numerous leads, but none have produced sightings.
McCasland’s disappearance has drawn national attention in part because of his extensive and sensitive military background.
He served as commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright‑Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, overseeing the Air Force’s $2.2‑billion science and technology program.
He also commanded the Phillips Research Site at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque and previously worked at the Pentagon as Director of Space Acquisition and Director of Special Programs for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense.
McCasland was commissioned in 1979 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a degree in astronautical engineering, and he later earned a doctorate from MIT in the same field.
He retired in 2013 after more than three decades of service.
BCSO is asking residents and businesses near Quail Run Court NE to review security video from February 27 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and to preserve all original footage.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff’s office or its Missing Persons Unit.
