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.