Are there aliens among us? Are we alone in the universe?

By Deb Anderson Variety Editor

My gaze was drawn to the key-shaped tie tack worn by the tall, dark-haired Texan who greeted me with a firm handshake, toothy smile and penetrating brown eyes. How appropriate it seemed since his occupation is that of trying to unlock mysteries.

Aptly, he produced a fluorescent yellow business card (fluorescence is one of the tools of his trade) that announced him as a private investigator known as “The House Detective.” But Derrel W. Sims is better known internationally as “The Alien Hunter.” And it was the latter who came to Dunn County recently at the behest of a woman seeking his help.

The long-time county resident declined to be identified, but insisted she has been beset with alien contact since childhood, often leaving her exhausted, bruised, scratched, fearful and unable to fully function as a human being, wife and mother. While her husband can testify to what she has endured, her own mother and siblings are totally unaware of the situation. Ultimately, she knew she had to let go of the fear, trauma and pain, and that Sims could guide her through to what she described as “that point where I needed to be, where I felt safe.”

Sims, who has a strong following, is used to such calls. But, accustomed to UFO skeptics and non-believers, during the interview, he quickly produced all kinds of identification from his wallet for verification of his qualifications.

Desperation was in the woman’s voice as she confessed to the feelings she had harbored about things perpetrated against her while fully alert.

“I thought half my thoughts weren’t my thoughts,” she said. “I thought my memories weren’t my memories.”

Sims, who states that “over 60 percent of abductions are in a waking state” nodded, recognizing the all-too familiar scenario.

“At Saber Enterprises [his research organization], we use a multimodality approach to memory retrieval, utilizing both conscious and unconscious retrieval systems,” he says.

Hypnosis and memory recall techniques are just some of the resources that Sims has that others do not. And the private session with Sims utilizing those skills and others, that preceded my arrival, apparently helped heal the woman’s visible and invisible wounds.

“It was most wonderful,” said the woman, rating it as the best experience she’s ever had, even surpassing giving birth, which had been her zenith.

“It blew that out of the water,” she said. “Can you imagine after 50 years getting your life back?”

Sims has more than 1,000 clients worldwide and has developed specialized techniques for individual abductees and gives them “the tools” necessary to take back control of their lives. He has been referred to as a “miraculous healer” with “endless cure energy,” and he speaks of the positive energy force known as Chi: “All have it; tap into it,” he says.

While he also helps people manage stress, relieve guilt and anxiety, stop smoking, lose weight, remove phobias and improve sports performance, he specializes in healing from traumatic events.

“This covers victims of crime, molestation, rape, murder witnesses, assault, battered men and women, help for victims of mass disasters (natural and others), and those who claim alleged alien abduction,” he says.

Self-empowerment with a pro-active approach is the main goal with regard to abductees who feel like they are victims.

Famous encounters

The X Files has interviewed him, and he’s been on radio as well as TV. NBC, The Learning Channel, the Discovery Channel and Unsolved Mysteries have all done videos on him. He has appeared on the 20th Century Fox show “Sightings” and Hollywood almost made a movie about him, but he wouldn’t allow it because he’d have to forfeit artistic control.

He has worked with hundreds of individual abductees, met with leading ufologists, and has spoken with numerous journalists. He speaks at conferences, holds workshops and teaches seminars.

He believes in Extra Sensory Acuity (ESA), but says he doesn’t know anyone with Extra Sensory Perception (ESP).

He has investigative experience with murder cases and wrongful death cases and comments, “I used to be a cop. Once a cop, always a cop.”

And, in his work, he claims to have seen three cases of demonic possession. But he is quick to differentiate between demons and aliens.

“A demon tries to possess a person,” he said. “Aliens don’t want to possess a body.”

Under the trademark of Saber Enterprises, Alien Hunter, found online at www.alienhunter.org, has obtained hits from NASA, CIA, NSA, ASA and NSA. And Sims’ presentations have captured the attention of doctors, professors and scientists.

He says his interest is not to convince anyone of anything, but to question “any evidence or the hint of it.” Well-worn chart boards as visual aids have made lots of trips and seen better days.

Qualifications loom large

No stereotypical southern drawl emerged from the fellow who’s only 58, yet possesses a lengthy history. An accent, yes, but instead of slow-paced speech patterns, he has so much to talk about, that his topics changed course at seemingly UFO speed. Again, how ironic. His lap top displays UFO footage taken by the shuttle STS 80 and footage taken by everyday citizens — although none came from Elmwood. And he references Roswell, N.M., home of the infamous UFO/military story and Alamogordo, N.M. (area of Holloman Air Force Base and the highly-classified White Sand Missile Range) where he lived for 13 years.

He is adamant that the films on his laptop are documentation of UFOs and not airplanes or missiles, citing he knows the difference because he lived around the missile range and his father-in-law worked on the missile sled.

“I’m real acquainted with missiles blowing up. I’ve seen it all,” he said. “And these are not airplanes. Airplanes don’t hit, explode and take off again on their own power.”

His mission is finding answers — specifically physical evidence — from alien adbuctees and contactees, often the unwitting victims of being placed in a hypnotic comatose state. The evidence includes verifiable experiences and alien implants (objects of unknown origin or unexplained composition seemingly installed with no entry point and without leaving a scar or inflammation). Surgically removed implants of various sizes and shapes are in an encased collection he carries with him.

“The Dream Team” of Saber Enterprises, comprised of “medical, scientific and other uniquely-disciplined professionals” and known as FIRST (Fund for Interactive Research and Space Technology), is the first to surgically remove alleged alien implants in a controlled medical setting. Focus is on medical and scientific analysis of the objects. All dedication goes to the pursuit of (and dissemination of) evidence surrounding human/ alien encounters.

“An abduction event is like an archeological site to me, harboring the potential of an enormous find,” said Sims, who likens himself to “an archeologist of the hearts and souls of others.”

Care, he says, must be taken so as “not to disturb or hurt the find or the persons who harbor such data.”

For 38 years, Sims has been a medical/scientific investigator of the phenomenon, traveling the world, holding seminars, interviewing people and collecting documentation. Appropriately, he recently finished writing his first book, “Best Evidence.”

“If there’s no evidence, I’m not interested,” said Sims, adding, “I’m not into ‘woo woo, weird, oddball stuff.’”