Retired United States Air Force Maj.-Gen. William “Neil” McCasland went missing nearly two weeks ago in Albuquerque, N.M., and authorities are appealing to the public for help finding him.

The FBI has joined the search for McCasland, 68, who left his home on foot at 11 a.m. local time on Feb. 27 and has not been in contact with his family or friends since, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) in New Mexico.

“It is unlike Neil to be out of touch from his family and friends for this length of time; but we have not given up hope. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office continues to seek the community’s help in locating him,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release on March 6.

Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office working with FBI in search

Investigators at the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office have “worked hand in hand with the FBI and other partner agencies, and so far uncovered no evidence of foul play” while searching for McCasland.

“We are, however, utilizing all possible resources including advanced technologies, and still considering all possible scenarios as we follow up on leads towards locating Neil,” police said.

“As of today, despite the collective efforts of law enforcement and the community, we still do not know what happened to Neil after he left home on February 27.”

The sheriff’s office believes that there are people “who have information valuable to locating Neil who have not yet spoken to law enforcement.”

“This could include people who have been in the Sandia Mountains and may have seen Neil or captured him on a GoPro or other recording device, specifically on Friday, February 27 or Saturday, February 28,” the news release added.

Police reminded the public of “hiking safety tips,” including picking the “right trail for you and your group’s ability, remember to let people know where you are, dress in layers, be sure to have enough water and always take your cell phone or some other way to communicate.”

The sheriff’s office issued a Silver Alert for McCasland on Feb. 27, which is still in effect due to an unspecified “medical issue.”

Authorities have conducted an extensive search canvassing neighbourhoods, conducting follow-up interviews and coordinating search operations in an effort to find him, the sheriff’s office said.

In a news release on March 3, the sheriff’s office said they could confirm that McCasland is “a retired U.S. Air Force general.”

“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 news release added.

“Our priority is finding Mr. McCasland safely,” said Sheriff John Allen. “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.

“We will share confirmed updates as soon as we can while protecting the integrity of the investigation.”

McCasland’s military background

McCasland retired as commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio in 2013. He was also responsible for managing the Air Force’s $2.2-billion science and technology program, according to his air force bio.

He also served at the Pentagon as director of Space Acquisition and as director of Special Programs for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.

“He has served in a wide variety of space research, acquisition and operations roles within the Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office. He commanded the Phillips site of Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland AFB, N.M., and served as Vice Commander of the Ogden Air Logistics Center and the Space and Missile Systems Center,” his bio reads.

McCasland graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1979 and holds a doctorate degree in astronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Following his retirement, McCasland worked with To The Stars, Inc., a company co-founded by Blink-182 co-lead singer and guitarist Tom Delonge, devoted to the “outer edges of science” and investigating unidentified flying objects (UFOs), now referred to as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).

McCasland’s involvement with UAPs became public when WikiLeaks released an archive of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta’s email records in 2016.

In January 2016, DeLonge of Blink-182 emailed Podesta, specifically referring to a Gen. McCasland (the subject of the email), who, according to DeLonge, was in charge of the laboratory where the alien spaceship residue was “shipped” from the alleged crash site in Roswell, N.M., in 1947.

DeLonge claimed McCasland “knows what [he’s] trying to achieve.”

(The email does not prove McCasland had any involvement with UAPs or the purported “alien residue,” which has also never been corroborated.)

McCasland’s wife says husband doesn’t have intel on ‘ET bodies’

McCasland’s wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, said she wanted to “dispel” some of the “misinformation circulating about Neil and his disappearance” in a Facebook post on Friday.

“The initial Silver Alert from BCSO mentioned medical conditions, which some have taken to mean Alzheimer’s. Neil is at some risk, but not from dementia. He was not confused and disoriented,” she wrote.

McCasland Wilkerson said there had been reports that a “close relative” had received a concerning phone call the day her husband went missing.

“I have been in contact with all of his close relatives and some not-so-close ones. This is a complete fabrication,” she wrote.

She went on to clarify McCasland’s “brief association with the UFO community through Tom DeLonge, former frontman for Blink-182 and founder of the organization To The Stars.”

“Neil worked with Tom for a bit shortly after his Air Force retirement as an unpaid (Neil’s choice) consultant on military and technical/scientific matters to lend verisimilitude to Tom’s fiction book and media activities,” she explained.

“After the Russians hacked John Podesta’s emails (see Neil’s Wikipedia page), there was less contact with Tom and the community pushing for release of UFO information.”

She said that her husband doesn’t have inside intel on “ET [extraterrestrial] bodies.”

“This connection is not a reason for someone to abduct Neil. Neil does not have any special knowledge about the ET bodies and debris from the Roswell crash stored at Wright-Patt,” she wrote.

“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,” McCasland Wilkerson added.

She also said there has been “no indication whatsoever of where he might be.”

“There have been dozens of searchers on foot, both official and friends and neighbors of Neil’s, who coordinate with the official sources. There have also been horseback searchers, drones with different capabilities, helicopters, three different types of search dogs, neighborhood canvassing and looking for Ring or wildlife videos,” she wrote.

McCasland is described as five feet, 11 inches tall with white hair and blue eyes. He is an avid outdoorsman and is known to often hike, run and cycle in the Northeast Heights and the Sandia foothills, according to police.

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office will continue to share verified information with the public as the investigation into McCasland’s disappearance continues.

“Please remember that information other than from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office is not verified or confirmed. There are people who attempt to develop their own theories based on the limited information available to the public and this makes finding Neil harder,” police added.

—With files from Global News’ Chris Jancelewicz