New Mexico search crews returned to the mountains behind the home of missing retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William “Neil” McCasland on June 26, four months after he mysteriously disappeared from his home near the Sandia Mountain wilderness.
McCasland was last seen at about 11 a.m. Feb. 27 at his home in Sandia Heights, one of the more prestigious neighborhoods of Albuquerque.
“It’s very unusual that we have not been able to find him, or been able to contact him,” Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Jayme Gonzales told The Epoch Times. “It’s definitely unusual.”
His case has been linked nationally to reports of about nine other scientists and national security officials who have gone missing or have died in recent years.
McCasland worked on classified space weapons programs while in the Air Force and was the head of research at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, which has been at the center of UFO lore since the Roswell incident in 1947.
New Mexico Search and Rescue, an all-volunteer force coordinated by the state police, returned to the Sandia Mountains at midnight on June 26 to conduct another search using specialized canines. The late hour and cooler temperatures were expected to help search dogs pick up clues, the team told KOB4.
The overnight search conducted by about 50 people was unsuccessful, according to local independent journalist Trevor Thompson, with a spokesperson saying there were no plans to conduct another search at this time.
New Mexico State Police didn’t return a request for comment, and The Epoch Times could not verify the search results.
No new information has developed in McCasland’s investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.
“We don’t have any indication as to where he could—or might—be,” Gonzales said. “Certainly, no one has heard from him or made contact with him.”
Sheriff’s investigators first searched the area behind McCasland’s neighborhood and found a gray U.S. Air Force sweatshirt about 1.25 miles east of his home on March 7. No blood was detected on the item, officials said.
Investigators are still following up on leads and information provided by the public. But after four months of searching, search-and-rescue teams “are our best partners,” Gonzales said.
Investigators say McCasland left home without his cellphone or his glasses. He was likely wearing a light green, long-sleeve button-up outdoor shirt when he disappeared. Items reported missing from his home were a .38 caliber revolver with a leather holster, his wallet, and hiking boots.
McCasland’s wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, last posted on Facebook on March 6, updating her friends and community about the search up to that point.
“There have been dozens of searchers on foot, both official and friends and neighbors of Neil’s, who coordinate with the official sources,” Wilkerson said. “There have also been horseback searchers, drones with different capabilities, helicopters, three different types of search dogs, neighborhood canvassing, and looking for Ring or Wildlife videos.”
The teams included FBI, local, state, and military investigators, according to Wilkerson.
