Retired Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland attempted to resign from multiple secret defense research programs days before vanishing from his home in New Mexico on February 27, according to newly released police documents.
The police records, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by historical researcher and author Sara Bondink, reveal previously undisclosed details surrounding the investigation into the 68-year-old officer's whereabouts.
Documentation of a March 3 interview shows conversations between McCasland's wife, Susan Wilkerson, and an officer with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Ghost Unit, a specialized division focused on anti-gang and human trafficking operations.
Wilkerson told investigators that her husband was making a desperate effort to step down from several high-level research projects across the United States over concerns that he was experiencing severe mental decline.
Although Wilkerson had previously stated on social media that McCasland no longer held top-secret clearances with the US government, police records confirm he remained an active member of at least four groups with deep ties to national defense secrets.
The organizations include Sandia National Laboratories, Riverside Research, the Kirtland Partnership, and a University Affiliated Research Center, all of which conduct advanced technology and national security research for the Department of War.
McCasland's disappearance has become a central focus of what authorities refer to as the missing scientist investigation, which examines potential links to several NASA scientists, nuclear laboratory personnel, and military officials who have died or vanished without a trace in recent years.
Resignations from Defense Advisory Boards
Police records state that McCasland flew alone to Washington DC just days before he vanished in order to officially resign from Riverside Research.
Riverside Research is a nonprofit entity that delivers engineering, scientific research, and advisory services for advanced technology projects under Pentagon, Air Force, and US intelligence community contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
According to the police report: "Upon returning to New Mexico, Neil told Susan that he resigned from the board of Riverside Research because he could not keep up, mentally, with the conversation."
Before his disappearance, McCasland was also a paid consultant for Sandia National Laboratories, a major government-owned facility in Albuquerque that develops national security technology, including nuclear weapons, under the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Sandia extensively supports Air Force research and development operations at multiple facilities, including Kirtland Air Force Base.
McCasland held deep historical ties to the base, having previously led the Air Force Research Laboratory's Phillips Research Site at Kirtland before serving as commanding officer of the entire Air Force Research Laboratory from 2011 to 2013.
Following his military retirement, McCasland remained active with the facility through the Kirtland Partnership, a nonprofit organization created to protect and expand the military installation and nuclear weapons laboratory.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office noted that McCasland was last seen around 11am on Friday, February 27, near Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque.
Final Sightings and Concerning Meeting
McCasland left his home without his mobile phone, glasses, or wearable electronic devices, taking only a38-caliber revolver.
Wilkerson informed 911 dispatchers that her husband appeared to be trying "not to be found" after changing into a set of clothes she did not recognize.
The day prior to his disappearance, McCasland was observed alert and coherent while exiting a local sporting goods store in New Mexico carrying a mysterious package.
Social media users reviewing surveillance footage identified the item in his hand as resembling a portable waterproof first aid kit.
Wilkerson also corroborated previously released police bodycam recordings detailing a phone call from an unidentified female witness who attended a dinner with McCasland, members of the Kirtland Partnership, and US Space Force officials on February 26.
The witness told police in a recorded call obtained by the Law&Crime Network: "I was shocked this morning when I saw the alert because what I noticed Thursday evening [February 26] is that he wasn't his usual self. [McCasland] was kind of spacey and quiet and you know that that happens with people."
The caller emphasized McCasland's extensive background: "He was the head of Air Force Research Lab to the point the man's names are in the UFO documents that are fixed to be released... He's in that depth, so he has a very high security clearance."
Police records show McCasland also sought to step down from a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) associated with an unnamed university.
These specialized research centers represent strategic partnerships between academic institutions and the Department of Defense, enabling military access to specialized university expertise in advanced science.
Although McCasland cited cognitive decline as his reason for stepping down from the UARC position, police noted that "the leadership was trying to convince him otherwise."
UFO Whistleblower Claims and FBI Investigation
Despite reports regarding potential cognitive decline, government officials indicated McCasland remained a key figure in ongoing congressional efforts to declassify historical records concerning unidentified flying objects and extraterrestrial intelligence.
In early May, former Air Force officer and UFO whistleblower David Grusch explicitly identified McCasland as one of the military commanders who oversaw classified programs involving the recovery and reverse-engineering of non-human craft.
Grusch alleged that McCasland was uncooperative with congressional investigators seeking interviews regarding alleged government contact with extraterrestrials.
The White House has directed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate McCasland's disappearance alongside the cases of several other personnel linked to US nuclear secrets who have vanished in New Mexico over the past year.
To date, law enforcement has recovered only one individual connected to the broader probe: Melissa Casias, a worker at Los Alamos National Laboratory whose remains were discovered in a New Mexico park on May 28.
Four months after his disappearance, authorities report no trace of McCasland, who departed his residence wearing an unfamiliar outfit and carrying only his boots and handgun.
