The former head of the Air Force Research Laboratory, retired Major General William Neil McCasland, disappeared from his Albuquerque, New Mexico home on February 26, 2026. He is the ninth U.S. scientist or engineer involved in Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, and Air Force Research Laboratory research on advanced satellite sensing, advanced materials, plasma physics and astrophysics to have disappeared. All were working on technologies with enormous civil space exploration potential, as well as obvious applications to SDI-related technologies. Seven of the researchers worked collaboratively on various projects for the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Some disappeared from their homes, some were shot on their front steps, some suddenly disappeared while hiking or walking. Official death notices or autopsies have not been released for all personnel. Only one body has been recovered.
As Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett said in March: “There have been several others throughout the country that have disappeared under suspicious circumstances. I think we ought to be paying attention to it… The numbers seem very high in these certain areas of research. I think we’d better be paying attention, and I don’t think we should trust our government,” he told the Daily Mail. He reported that intelligence agencies have thwarted his attempts at finding out what has happened to them. However, disclosure of all Federal evidence on the cases to Congress is due on Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
