Newly released police reports indicate that retired Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland was attempting to resign from several advisory positions within secret Pentagon-affiliated research programs in the period immediately preceding his disappearance on February 27. McCasland, 68, was last seen leaving his New Mexico home without his phone, wearable devices, or glasses, carrying only a pistol.
Details emerged through a Freedom of Information Act request by researcher Sara Bondink, revealing interviews between McCasland's wife, Susan Wilkerson, and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's GHOST Unit. Wilkerson stated that McCasland was seeking to resign from at least four groups involved in high-level research for the Department of War. These organizations include Sandia National Laboratories, Riverside Research, the Kirtland Partnership, and a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). McCasland reportedly cited fears of severe mental decline as the reason for his attempts to step down.
McCasland's roles involved national security and advanced technology projects. He had been a paid consultant for Sandia National Laboratories, a government-owned lab focused on national security technology, including nuclear weapons. He also maintained ties to Kirtland Air Force Base through his work with the Air Force Research Lab, where he previously led the Phillips Research Site and served as commanding officer from 2011 to 2013. He was also a member of the Kirtland Partnership, a nonprofit supporting the military research facility.
Just days before his disappearance, McCasland reportedly flew to Washington D.C. to officially resign from Riverside Research, a nonprofit that provides research and advisory services on advanced technology projects for the Pentagon and intelligence community. Upon returning to New Mexico, he told his wife he resigned because he "could not keep up, mentally, with the conversation." He also attempted to resign from his position with a UARC, an entity that forms long-term research partnerships between universities and the Pentagon for advanced science and technology projects.
An anonymous caller informed police that McCasland had a meeting with members of the Kirtland Partnership and the U.S. Space Force on February 26, the day before he vanished. This witness described McCasland as "spacey and quiet" during the meeting. The witness also claimed McCasland's name appears in UFO-related documents slated for release, suggesting he possessed a high security clearance.
Despite his wife's concerns about potential mental decline, government officials have indicated McCasland was considered a key witness in efforts to declassify information related to UFOs. In early May, UFO whistleblower David Grusch named McCasland as one of the officers who allegedly oversaw classified programs involving non-human craft recovery and reverse-engineering. Grusch claimed the general had been uncooperative with lawmaker inquiries into his knowledge of alleged extraterrestrial contact.
The White House has assigned the FBI to investigate McCasland's disappearance, which is part of a broader inquiry into the disappearances of several individuals with ties to U.S. nuclear secrets in the New Mexico area over the past year. The remains of Los Alamos National Lab worker Melissa Casias were found in a New Mexico park on May 28. McCasland, however, has not been seen since he vanished four months ago, reportedly taking only a pair of boots and a .38-caliber revolver.