McCasland, central to advanced aerospace and nuclear research, walked out of his Albuquerque home on February 27, 2026, leaving behind his phone, prescription glasses, and wearable tracking devices. He took his wallet, a .38-caliber revolver with holster, and a red backpack. Despite extensive searches in the rugged Sandia Mountains foothills with FBI assistance, no trace has been found, and a Silver Alert remains active.

The newly surfaced video obtained by the Law&Crime Network captures officers interviewing a witness who dined with McCasland the night prior. The woman, connected through the Kirtland Partnership nonprofit, described a dinner meeting involving McCasland and US Space Force members around 6pm in Albuquerque.

She told authorities: "I was shocked this morning when I saw the alert because what I noticed Thursday evening [February 26] is he wasn't his usual self. He was kind of spacey and quiet and you know that that happens with people."

McCasland's wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, appeared in the footage and revealed he had been prescribed new medication the night before for sleep issues, unexplained weight loss of about 20 pounds, and anxiety.

She stated: "Today he had taken a drug that the doctor prescribed last night that was supposed to help him sleep with weight gain... He's lost about 20 pounds for no reason and with anxiety. Today he woke up and said, 'Well, I have got better sleep, but it's like the after effects of a bad hangover. I just kind of feel a little weird.'"

The witness further claimed McCasland remained deeply involved despite retirement: "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."

This meeting with Space Force personnel, tasked with tracking unexplained aerial phenomena for national security, occurred against the backdrop of Trump's disclosure order. The timing fuels skepticism toward any narrative minimizing potential connections.

McCasland commanded Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico - a hub for nuclear weapons research and Space Force operations - and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Wright-Patterson has long carried UFO associations, including unconfirmed claims of housing Roswell crash materials.

Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett described him pointedly: "He's the guy that had a lot of nuclear secrets. I've been told by several sources that he was the gatekeeper for the UFO stuff."

His wife has downplayed direct UFO involvement, noting only a brief unpaid consulting role with Tom DeLonge's To The Stars Academy for fictional projects, stating he "does not have any special knowledge" on extraterrestrial matters. Yet the pre-disappearance meeting and documented clearances keep legitimate questions alive.

This development fits into a disturbing sequence of disappearances and deaths.