Search for Missing Retired Air Force General Intensifies as Investigators Examine Boots Found at Vacation Home

Overview

• Authorities said hiking boots found at William N. McCasland’s vacation home are being evaluated to determine any link to his disappearance.
• There are still no confirmed sightings or surveillance images showing his route of travel, and a Silver Alert remains active into a third week.
• Investigators say he spoke with a repairman that morning and vanished within about an hour while his wife was out, leaving his phone, glasses and wearables at home.
• Unaccounted-for items include his wallet, a .38-caliber revolver with a leather holster and a red backpack; a gray Air Force sweatshirt found about 1.25 miles east showed no blood and has not been confirmed as his.
• The FBI is assisting the sheriff’s office as they canvass hundreds of homes, and officials acknowledge outside speculation—including a retired FBI agent’s suicide theory—while his family rejects claims tying the case to classified or UFO work.