Ex-FBI agent suggests missing ‘space weapons’ expert motive as firearm remains ‘unaccounted for’

Content warning: This article discusses suicide. Please take care while reading.

Ex-FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer zeroed in on one piece of evidence in the case of the missing retired Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland to offer her own theory as to what happened.

On March 14, Coffindaffer, a retired FBI special agent who now works as a law-enforcement commentator and expert witness, posted on X, in part,

… [W]hat I do believe is that likely, General McCasland took his life. He left without his cell phone so he could not be tracked. He took his gun — unnecessary for a hike. He took his wallet so he could be [identified] when found. He is an avid hiker and knows the mountain he fled to well, so he knew how to find a private place.

via Jennifer Coffindaffer, X

McCasland didn’t take his glasses because he knew he wouldn’t need them, Coffindaffer added in her post.

McCasland, 68, went missing near his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Feb. 27, and despite a massive search, searchers have found no trace of him. Authorities have announced no signs of foul play.

The @tmbspaceships account

Coffindaffer’s post came around the same time anonymous “online sleuths” uncovered an X account, @tmbspaceships, which they believe McCasland is behind, the New York Post reported.

According to the X bio, the anonymous account is run by a “retired 38-year active duty” United States Air Force member with a PhD in engineering, similar to McCasland. However, McCasland had served about 35 years on active duty when he retired. McCasland holds a PhD in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The last @tmbspaceships post was the same day McCasland vanished, and the account has been silent since then. And according to the Post, the online investigators uncovered a Sept. 2, 2025, post from the account stating, Maj. Gen. John Rossi, who allegedly committed suicide in 2016, was murdered, instead.

The post said,

Gen. Rossi was a good friend and it is my opinion he did not commit suicide. I believe Gen Rossi was killed because of [an] incident, reported to the Pentagon IG (inspector general], that he would not transfer nuclear weapons to private hands, just months prior in an attempted Nuclear Weapons theft from Ft. Sill.”

via @tmbspaceships

In her post, Coffindaffer stated, “Not that I believe the premise,” referring to the @tmbspaceships as reported by the post.

What happened to McCasland?

McCasland was last seen walking away from his Albuquerque home. Authorities issued a Silver Alert and launched an extensive search led by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, supported by the FBI and Kirtland Air Force Base personnel. Law enforcement has noted McCasland has a medical condition that raises concern for his safety, though the family has not publicly specified details.

Speculation online has connected McCasland’s disappearance to his past U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory leadership at Wright-Patterson AFB and brief consulting ties to UFO-focused projects.

McCasland’s wife has downplayed McCasland’s health concerns and stressed there is no credible evidence linking him to classified UAP programs, calling out misinformation and conspiracy theories.

On March 6, McCasland’s wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson stated in part on Facebook,

… It is true that Neil had a brief association with the UFO community through Tom DeLonge, former frontman for Blink-182 and founder of [Delonge’s UAP/UFO research] 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.”

Authorities continue to treat the case as a missing-person investigation, emphasizing that the focus remains on locating McCasland safely, while dispelling unfounded claims of extraterrestrial involvement.