New Mexico authorities ask for help in search for former AFRL commander

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office in Albuquerque, N.M., has asked for the public’s help in locating 68-year-old retired Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, who was last seen around 11 a.m. Feb. 27 in an Albuquerque neighborhood.

McCasland retired from the Air Force in July 2013 as a two-star general after a 34-year career in uniform.

McCasland had led AFRL since May 2011 before retiring. The Air Force Academy and Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate was in charge of an AFRL site in Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., among a host of assignments, before his final post at Wright-Patterson.

“Due to his background and established partnerships, BCSO is coordinating closely with multiple agencies, including the FBI Albuquerque field office, which is assisting as standard practice when it has a tool, tactic, or technique that may benefit the investigation. BCSO remains the lead agency,” the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook Tuesday.

“BCSO is coordinating with partners at Kirtland Air Force Base to expand outreach and speed information-sharing that may assist in locating Mr. McCasland,” the office also said. “Sheriff John Allen, an honorary base commander at Kirtland, is assisting with those coordination efforts.”

Messages seeking comment were left for representatives of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and AFRL at Wright-Patterson.

“Our priority is finding Mr. McCasland safely,” Allen said on Facebook. “Our investigators and search teams are working continuously, and we’re coordinating closely with our local, state, and federal partners. We’re asking the public to help by checking and preserving any security camera footage from the area and reporting any information immediately.”

Joe Sciabica, a former civilian executive director of AFRL who worked closely with McCasland, said he has been following the search since the weekend. The major general had a solid career across the Air Force, including a stint as a materiel wing director at AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland, where Sciabica first crossed paths with him. He also commanded the Phillips Research Site, in charge of some 2,000 people, also at Kirtland.

“He’s an avid hiker, bike rider, Olympic-level downhill skier, ” Sciabica said.

One concern is that perhaps he got hurt while hiking on one of the many trails around Albuquerque.

“It’s impossible to know,” Sciabica said.

“We are deeply concerned by the reported disappearance of a respected and influential member of our community,” a spokeswoman for AFRL at Kirtland, Othana Zuch, said in an email.

“AFRL leadership, along with the entire community, has been closely following the situation through verified news reports. We remain hopeful for his safe return and are keeping his loved ones in our thoughts during this difficult time,” Zuch said, adding:

“We stand ready to support the agencies involved in ongoing search and recovery efforts and will continue to monitor updates as they become available."