The third patient, a man in his mid-30s, presented a very different situation. He does not believe he has had alien encounters. Instead, he believes an object was inserted into the flesh of his neck below his left jaw during dental surgery for the removal of a molar several years ago.

At the time, he was employed by a Department of Defense subcontractor, and the dentist was recommended to him by his employer. No evidence was offered as to why the dentist or the employer would be involved in placing an implant in this man. However, he said that immediately after the dental surgery, he began hearing two distinct voices in his head. He had himself examined and tested by several different specialists in an effort to rid himself of the annoying voices, but to no avail. Finally, he underwent MRI and x-ray scans, which clearly revealed the presence of a foreign object in the tissue below his left jaw.

The operation to remove this object was much more difficult than the other two surgeries. A device called a flouroscan was used to locate the object during the surgery. Despite clear x-rays, Dr. Leir said that without the flouroscan it would have been extremely difficult to remove the object, which was at least one-half inch below the surface of the man's neck and shrouded in fatty tissue. From the moment of the first incision, the surgeons took 31 minutes to finally remove the object.

This writer was allowed a brief look at the object. It appeared metallic, silver-gray in color and shaped like a tiny flat disc, approximately 3 millimeters in diameter.

The physicians noted that there had been no scar on the man's face indicating the penetration of such an object from the outside. It is therefore possible that the object was inserted from inside the mouth.

The man had received a local anesthetic and was able to leave the clinic shortly after the conclusion of his surgery. However, his operation had obviously been a physical and emotional ordeal for him, and he declined to answer questions.

The fact of unexplained foreign objects in the bodies of abductees opens a whole new chapter in the serious research of possible human encounters with other intelligence.

However, the possibility that the object removed from the third patient may have come from a human agency points to a very different and potentially alarming mystery. Was this man the subject of some form of mind-control experiment? Is the object possibly a "tag" or "tracking device"? Will the voices in his head stop now that the object is removed? CNI News will continue to follow this developing story.

Author Whitley Strieber, an observer at these surgeries, praised the courage of the three patients and the pioneering efforts of the Leir-Sims team. Strieber said he too believes he may have one or more implants in his body, and he intends to have them removed. However, he said he also believes it is appropriate for other medical teams to undertake this work, and he expects to have his own implants removed and studied at facilities in his home town of San Antonio, Texas, at some future time.