Welcome to issue 8 of isle of wéired news – bringing you the weirdest news from around the world.
In this issue: more questions than answers as missing US Air Force general mystery deepens; Pope Leo XIV is told that more exorcists are needed; a “ghost shrine” in India attracts attention; deaths and disappearances in South Africa may be linked to witchcraft; NASA rule out a closer look at Gale Crater mystery rock; and the “heroic virtues” of Poland’s Sister Barbara Stanisława Samulowska are recognised.
Mystery Deepens Over Missing General
Retired US Air Force General William McCasland has been missing since 27 February after leaving his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico without his watch, phone or glasses (see isle of wéired news – issue 7).
His disappearance has generated a lot of media attention as he previously commanded the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright‑Patterson Air Force Base, long associated with rumours of UFO research and alleged Roswell crash material.
Now, the recording of the 911 call made by his wife Susan McCasland Wilkerson has now been made public. And in that call, she voices her suspicions that her husband may not want to be found.
My name is Susan Wilkerson. My husband is missing. And he’s…it’s been about three hours, and I have some indication that he must have planned not to be found.
He’s left his phone. He changed his clothes into I don’t know what. I think he’s on foot. All of our cars and bicycles are in the garage. I left for a doctor’s appointment at about 11:10.
And he was here at that time at the house, and I got back from that at noon, and he was gone. He turned it off and left it behind, which seems kind of deliberate because he’s always got his phone. He has a smartwatch. I don’t know if that’s with him or not.
During the call, Wilkerson disclosed that McCasland was dealing with physical and mental health issues, and that he had stated that if his mental and physical deterioration continued he wouldn’t want to live that way.
However, Wilkerson said she believed this had been a statement of frustration rather than intent. And the 911 call recording would seem to support her assertion that McCasland’s disappearance is unrelated to his work at Wright-Patterson.
However, in some quarters McCasland’s disappearance is seen as part of a pattern of disappearances and deaths of military personnel and scientists involved in defence research.
Newsweek published a timeline of the deaths and disappearances believed to be part of this pattern.
July 4, 2024 – Frank Maiwald: The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher died in Los Angeles at age 61, with no cause of death disclosed.
May 4, 2025 – Anthony Chavez: The former Los Alamos National Laboratory employee vanished.
June 22, 2025 – Monica Reza: The NASA scientist went missing during a hike in the Angeles National Forest, reportedly disappearing just yards from others in her group.
June 26, 2025 – Melissa Casias: A Los Alamos administrative assistant disappeared from her residence; her mobile devices had been wiped.
December 12, 2025 – Jason Thomas: The Novartis researcher went missing, prompting a search that ended when his body was recovered from a lake on March 17, 2026.
December 15, 2025 – Nuno Loureiro: The head of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center was fatally attacked at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
February 16, 2026 – Carl Grillmair: The astrophysicist was shot on his front porch during the early morning.
February 27, 2026 – William Neil McCasland: The retired Air Force general left his New Mexico home and has not been seen since.
Source(s): The Mirror US, 3 April 2026; Newsweek, 7 April 2026
More Exorcists Needed
At the annual conference of the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) in Rome, the Pope was warned that there is a global shortage of exorcists.
A spokesperson for the group said there was a shortfall of about 2,000 exorcists – and a shortage of training for young priests.
The AIE, which was founded in 1994 and currently has 1,000 members, provides training and support for exorcists, and works to raise awareness of demonic possession.
“It would be a significant achievement if every Catholic diocese could have at least one exorcist,” said Dr Alberto Castaldini, a professor of theology. “Theological and pastoral training are important for raising awareness of this pastoral ministry. Unfortunately, this topic is often absent from, or not adequately addressed in, the curricula of seminaries or theological faculties.”
Social media and artificial intelligence are believed to be behind some of the increased demand for exorcists.
“This growing demand derives from a variety of causes,” said Dr Castaldini. “For example, involvement in occult sects, membership of esoteric or neo-pagan circles, or the use of magical practices.
“These factors point to a phenomenon that is undoubtedly on the rise, becoming increasingly widespread and pervasive, fuelled by social media and even artificial intelligence.”
In a report prepared for the Pope, the AIE have asked Pope Leo to ensure every diocese had one or more adequately trained exorcist priest.
Source(s): The Daily Telegraph, 27 March 2026
… Especially in the USA
According to Rev. Chad Ripperger, a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Denver, the demand for exorcists in the USA is at an all time high. But Ripperger doesn’t blame Satan for the increase in demand – or social media.
Ripperger says that people themselves are to blame because they ignore the church’s teachings and act on their own “dark impulses.”
“The demons are empowered as more and more people commit evil deeds,” he said. “If a person willingly becomes involved in these evil deeds, Satanism or witchcraft, the actions lead to a susceptibility to Satan’s influence so that he or she is easily manipulated and can be incited to do more evil things.
“Unfortunately, people today do not believe their actions have consequences.”
It’s estimated that there are currently 150 priests in the USA trained to perform exorcisms, a 650% increase since 2020.
One of those priests is Rev Dan Todd, of Our Lady of Divine Mercy Anglican Church, in High Bridge, New Jersey.
“The devil is out there,” says Todd, “but people do bad things as well.”
Source(s): New York Post, 29 March 2026
“Ghost Shrine” Controversy
Education authorites have ordered an inquiry after a “ghost shrine” was built on the grounds of a school in Kausani, a village in the Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand, India.
The shrine, according to reports, was built after rumours spread that a ghost was haunting the campus.
It was built with bricks under a tree where it is believed a Nepalese worker died by suicide 30 years ago.
According to Chandan Singh Bhandari, president of the school’s parents-teachers’ association, persistent rumours that the worker’s spirit was haunting the site had caused considerable fear in she school – and the wider community.
He said that the building of the shrine was meant to be a small symbolic gesture. However, the shrine attracted controversy after it emerged that the students were being asked to fund its construction.
It also attracted the attention of Baheshwar’s chief education officer, who said: “To construct a shrine in the premises of a government college in the name of a ghost amounts to promoting superstition.”
Source(s): Hindustan Times Uttarakhand, 4 April 2026
Witchcraft Murders
A number of disappearances and deaths in the Mkuze district of Zululand, South Africa, are believed to be linked to witchcraft.
The area came under scrutiny last year following the the disappearance of British tourist Lorna McSorley in September.
Following this, a young local woman disappeared and a pensioner’s body was found with her hands cut off.
Local councillor Sthembiso Dlamini says at least ten people have gone missing in the area over five years.
Bodies that have been recovered have been missing organs or body parts. And it’s believed that the body parts are being used by some muti practitioners.
Muti is a traditional medicine. And while most practitioners primarily use plants and animals in their preparations, there are those who use of human body parts, believing them to bring wealth or power.
And for those practitioners who do use body parts in their medicines, they believe the most potent are those that come from children, white people and those with albinism.
Muti practitioners rely on a network of “scouts” for their victims.
“It is happening too much, now more often,” said Dlamini. “Everyone in the community is so scared. We don’t have violent crime in Mkuze, only this.”
71-year-old McSorley disappeared after getting lost on a walk – and was last seen asking for directions.
Following a week long search, involving boats, drones and helicopters, only her map was found.
While local police say they don’t have any suspects, Dlamini believes McSorley’s disappearance is muti related – as do her family.
“This seems to be more evidence that Lorna’s disappearance was not random but linked to this appalling type of crime,” said McSorley’s brother, Geoff Sheward. “No ransom was ever asked and her bank card has not been used so there seemed no financial motive. After the shock of the news I researched disappearances like Lorna’s and it seems to be readily accepted by the community leaders in the Mkuze area that there is a link with extreme traditional medicine.”
A private security team who protect the region’s farms and endangered wildlife accessed and analysed mobile phone data and found evidence that several people had converged on the spot where her Lorna’s map was found.
The investigators say they passed this information to the police in October. However, detectives leading the investigation claim they are unaware of any phone evidence.
To date, no arrests have been made.
Source(s): The Times, 20 March 2026
It’s Just a Rock Say NASA
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has been trying to persuade Nasa to send their Curiosity rover back to Gale Crater on Mars to examine a mysterious party hat-shaped objected that was photographed back in 2022 (see isle of wéired news – issue 7).
“Should we just assume that the mysterious cylinder is human-made and move on or turn back the rover to figure out whether its origin is different?” he worte in a post on Medium.
NASA, however, don’t believe the object is that mysterious.
“We’ve seen many, many Martian rocks that exhibit shapes that, from a particular angle, look like a more familiar shape,” a spokesperson said.
The rock is also substantially smaller than the 20cm previously estimated. It was 13 metres away from the rover when photographed and is believed to be only 1cm in size.
According to NASA, the party hat-shaped object is just an example of pareidolia – the phenomenon of seeing familiar images in random formations, such as clouds or rocks.
But Loeb isn’t buying this explanation.
“The image clearly shows that there is no rock resembling this anomalous object within its natural environment.” he said. “Also, a rock is not expected to have a smooth cylindrical surface with a flat end. If this object is a rock, we should see other examples of it.”
Source(s): New York Post, 29 March 2026
“Heroic Virtues” of Polish Visionary Recognised
Pope Leo XIV has formally recognised the “heroic virtues” of Sister Barbara Stanisława Samulowska, a major step in the process of her beatification.
Born on 21 January 1865, Barbara Samulowska was 12 years old when she became one of two witnesses to a series of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Gietrzwałd, Poland, in 1877.
As requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary, Samulowska joined the Sisters of Mercy of Saint Vincent de Paul. She took her religious vows in 1889 and spent most of the rest of her life serving the sick and poor in Guatemala.
Sister Samulowska died in Guatemala on 6 December 1950.
The Gietrzwałd apparitions are the only Marian apparitions in Poland recognised by the church. They received Vatican approval in 1977, with Cardinal Karol Wojtyla – better known today as St. John Paul II – presiding at the Mass.
A verified miracle through the intercession of Sister Samulowska is still required before she can be declared “Blessed.”
Source(s): Aleteia, 30 March 2026
Love the news and great research.