Mysterious disappearance of UFO-linked Air Force general sparks search

[John J.]

There's a more recent report about items McCasland might or might not have had with him:
Whether he took/ wore hiking boots isn't certain; he might have taken a backpack.

From NewsNation website, "Sheriff: No sightings of retired Air Force General Neil McCasland", 17 March 2026, Jordan Perkins
https://www.newsnationnow.com/missi...ate-search-missing-retired-air-force-general/
(Ross Coulthart is a corresondent for NewsNation but doesn't seem to be involved with this report).

According to the sheriff's office, he left his phone, glasses and wearable devices at home. They say it would be highly unusual for him to leave those items at home.

Police said a wallet, red backpack, revolver and a holster for the gun that belonged to McCasland are still unaccounted for and were not found at the home.

At one point, investigators thought McCasland might be wearing a particular green shirt and hiking boots. However, those boots and that shirt were found in McCasland's second home in Pagosa Springs. Investigators aren't sure if he owned multiple versions of the boots or shirt.

Pagosa Springs is in Colorado, approximately 147 miles, 237 km NbW from Sandia Heights (according to https://distanceasthecrowflies.com/).

The report provides a bit more information about the rationale for a "Silver Alert" being issued:

The sheriff's office says they issued a Silver Alert because McCasland had once reported being in a "mental fog." However, investigators don't believe he was cognitively impaired and say he was in good health.

"There's no indication, and we are not putting forward that Mr. McCasland was disoriented or confused," said Lt. Kyle Woods of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office. "Arguably, he would still be the most intelligent person in the room that any of us would be in. Highly intelligent, highly capable, but that information was given to us early on, and out of an abundance of caution, we escalated to a silver alert to try to garner as much public attention as possible to try to help locate him as soon as possible."

 

[NorCal Dave]

Just to up the cringe factor with UFOlgist jumping on this story, one Christina Gomez is a rather prolific UFO poster on Facebook and has posted comments by congressman Burlison about the missing General:

Apparently when McCasland told Burlison and Grusch he had "nothing to say" on the UFO subject, that doesn't mean he literally had nothing to say, it means "covert silencing" may be the reason he's missing.

 

[Ann K]

Apparently when McCasland told Burlison and Grusch he had "nothing to say" on the UFO subject, that doesn't mean he literally had nothing to say, it means "covert silencing" may be the reason he's missing.

That's not really "apparent", of course, but is the interpretation of Burlison, Grusch, or perhaps Cristina Gomez. Quite possibly McCasland simply had nothing to say on the subject. Burlison is a dedicated UFOlogist, according to his Wikipedia page, and subject to other fringe beliefs.

In 2024, Burlison petitioned House leadership to create a committee to study UFOs.[30]​ Instead, a task force within the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform — with no subpoena power — was created to investigate UFOs, among other topics; as of 2025, Burlison serves on the body.[31]​[32]​

He has stated that he believes purported UFOs are either angels or manmade objects,[33]​ and in 2025 introduced UFO-related legislation.[34]​

In July 2025, Burlison traveled to Mexico to examine the Nazca mummies,[35]​ a popular hoax[36]​[37]​ alleged to be the corpses of three-fingered space aliens.[37]​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Burlison

 

[Mendel]

Apparently when McCasland told Burlison and Grusch he had "nothing to say" on the UFO subject, that doesn't mean he literally had nothing to say, it means "covert silencing" may be the reason he's missing.

It's a good example of how a strong belief is impervious to facts.
Why wouldn't they believe McCasland himself when he said he had nothing to say?
If they made multiple attempts to get him to talk, my money is on him being annoyed, and sharing that annoyance with his wife, which is how she knew he didn't know anything about UFOs.

 

[MyMatesBrainwashed]

An interesting take on what General McCasland did and didn't take from Jennifer Coffindaffer (a retired FBI agent) who suspects it may be suicide...

He left without his cell phone so he could not be tracked. He took his gun — unnecessary for a hike. He took his wallet so he could be [identified] when found. He is an avid hiker and knows the mountain he fled to well, so he knew how to find a private place.

Full Newsweek article -> https://www.newsweek.com/former-fbi-agent-questions-missing-us-air-force-general-health-11683825

 

[jdog]

It's a good example of how a strong belief is impervious to facts.
Why wouldn't they believe McCasland himself when he said he had nothing to say?
If they made multiple attempts to get him to talk, my money is on him being annoyed, and sharing that annoyance with his wife, which is how she knew he didn't know anything about UFOs.

Of all the motivations that might prompt a retired military officer to flee their home with a gun, "possessing secret UFO knowledge" would not be in my top 10, maybe not the top 100.

 

[Mendel]

An interesting take on what General McCasland did and didn't take from Jennifer Coffindaffer (a retired FBI agent) who suspects it may be suicide...

Yes, this occurred to me as well. However, I find it likely that if he had intended that, he'd have left a note—but apparently his wife did not find one.

 

[Ann K]

@MyMatesBrainwashed

He took his gun — unnecessary for a hike.

There are wolves and mountain lions in the area, a fact of which the retired agent seems to be unaware. In much of the US a gun might be considered a strange thing to carry on a hike, but that's not so in the desert southwest.

(Edit to add: there are also bears, a thing I found out for myself when I returned from a canyon hike by the same route and found my own footprints with bear prints on top of them.)

As for her choice of words, there is no evidence to suggest he "fled" at all.

 

[Gary C]

@MyMatesBrainwashed

He took his gun — unnecessary for a hike.

There are wolves and mountain lions in the area, a fact of which the retired agent seems to be unaware. In much of the US a gun might be considered a strange thing to carry on a hike, but that's not so in the desert southwest.

As for her choice of words, there is no evidence to suggest he "fled" at all.

I'm not familiar with that area but I have other friends in the South West who sometimes carry a revolver loaded with "snake shot" if they are going to be going off road for any length of time. By today's standards a .38 cal revolver is a rather minimal level of protection in the US.

YMMV

 

[jdog]

@MyMatesBrainwashed

He took his gun — unnecessary for a hike.

There are wolves and mountain lions in the area, a fact of which the retired agent seems to be unaware. In much of the US a gun might be considered a strange thing to carry on a hike, but that's not so in the desert southwest.

(Edit to add: there are also bears, a thing I found out for myself when I returned from a canyon hike by the same route and found my own footprints with bear prints on top of them.)

As for her choice of words, there is no evidence to suggest he "fled" at all.

I'm not sure I'd bring a handgun to a rattlesnake fight, but recent reddit posts also reminded me that it's rattlesnake season already here in San Diego. Rattlers apparently start coming out of hibernation around Albuquerque in March.

 

[JMartJr]

I'm not sure I'd bring a handgun to a rattlesnake fight

See:

...I have other friends in the South West who sometimes carry a revolver loaded with "snake shot" if they are going to be going off road for any length of time.

Snake shot, rat shot, or dust shot,[1] more formally known as shotshell[2] (a name shared with the shotgun shell) or canister shot, refers to handgun and rifle cartridges loaded with lead shot canisters instead of bullets, intended for pest control (essentially small arms canister shot). The main targets for such ammunition are snakes, rodents, birds, and other pests at very close range.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_shot

My Uncle spent a lot of time out in the woods and swamps of Georgia, he wouldn't get out of the car in those areas without a pistol loaded with snakeshot. (He was probably more concerned about snakebite than the local snake population really justified, but there were plenty of copperheads, water moccasins and rattlers out there, and he sent a number of them home to their maker, none of them ever laid a fang on him. I had to find a home for a number of boxes of such ammo when I cleaned out his house as his executor when he passed away -- not from a snake!