A missing retired Air Force major general who once served at a base connected to UFO lore may have had a gun and other items with him when he disappeared from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, two weeks ago, investigators announced in an update March 12.

The FBI has joined the search for Maj. Gen. William “Neil” McCasland, 68, who was last seen at about 11 a.m. Feb. 27 in Sandia Heights, one of the most prestigious neighborhoods of the city located at the edge of the Sandia Mountain wilderness.

Authorities said McCasland left wearing a light green, long sleeve button-up outdoor shirt. Items that investigators reported missing from the home were a .38 caliber revolver with a leather holster, his wallet, and hiking boots, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators have also pieced together more details about what happened the day McCasland disappeared.

At about 10 a.m., a repairman was at his home and interacted with McCasland. At about 11:10 a.m., his wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, left the house for a doctor’s appointment, according to the sheriff’s office.

At about 12:04 p.m., his wife returned home and McCasland was not there, but she found his phone, prescription glasses, and wearable devices at the house.

Wilkerson began trying to find her husband and contacted family and friends. At about 3:07 p.m., she reported him missing and the investigation started immediately, the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators located a gray U.S. Air Force sweatshirt about 1.25 miles east of the residence on March 7, which was collected and processed, the sheriff’s office reported.

“No blood was detected during initial processing, and additional analysis is pending,” the sheriff’s office stated.

Family and friends have not confirmed the sweatshirt was McCasland’s but finding it prompted searchers to focus their efforts in the area.

There is no evidence of foul play, according to the sheriff’s office.

Wilkerson tried to dispel rumors that had appeared online during the search about her husband’s mental condition in a social media post.

“Neil is at some risk, but not from dementia,” she stated. “He was not confused and disoriented.”

More than 700 residents in the neighborhood surrounding McCasland’s home have been asked to turn over their home security surveillance footage to local law enforcement.

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William “Neil” McCasland may have been wearing this green shirt when he went missing from his Albuquerque, N.M., home on Feb. 27, 2026. (Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office)

Searchers are using drones, helicopters, ground searches, teams, and K-9 searches to try to find him.

So far, the sheriff’s office had not received any confirmed sighting or video showing McCasland leaving the area or indicating a direction of travel.

During his time in the Air Force, McCasland worked on classified space weapons programs.

He was also 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. Conspiracy theories allege some of the debris from the crash was taken to the base for analysis. The base hosted the Air Force’s official investigation into UFOs from 1952 to 1969.

McCasland went missing eight days after President Donald Trump announced he would direct the secretary of war and other departments to begin releasing government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, UAP, and UFOs.

Wilkerson said McCasland had access to some highly classified programs and information. He also had a brief association with the UFO community through Tom DeLonge, the former frontman for Blink-182 who founded the organization To The Stars. McCasland worked for the organization after he retired as a consultant on military and scientific matters, she said.

“This connection is not a reason for someone to abduct Neil,” Wilkerson said. “Neil does not have any special knowledge about the ET bodies and debris from the Roswell crash stored at Wright-Patt. Though at this point with absolutely no sign of him, maybe the best hypothesis is that aliens beamed him up to the mothership.

“However, no sightings of a mothership hovering above the Sandia Mountains have been reported,” she said.