  We identify a vertical extension of the red clump stars in the color
magnitude diagram (CMD) of a section of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). After
subtracting the principal red clump component, we find a peak in the residual
stellar distribution that is ~ 0.9 mag brighter than the peak of the principal
red clump distribution. We consider and reject the following possible
explanations for this population: inhomogeneous reddening, Galactic disk stars,
random blends of red clump stars, correlated blends of red clump stars
(binaries), evolution of the red clump stars, and red clump stars from a
younger LMC stellar population. Combinations of these effects cannot be ruled
out as the origin of this stellar population. A natural interpretation of this
new population is that it consists of red clump stars that are closer to us
than those in the LMC. We find corroborating evidence for this interpretation
in Holtzman et al.'s (1997) Hubble Space Telescope CMD of the LMC field stars.
The derived distance and projected angular surface density of these stars
relative to the LMC stars (<~ 5 to 7%) are consistent with (1) models that
attribute the observed microlensing lensing optical depth (Alcock et al. 1997)
to a distinct foreground stellar population (Zhao 1997) and (2) tidal models of
the interaction between the LMC and the Milky Way (Lin, Jones, & Klemola 1995).
We conclude that the standard assumption of a smoothly distributed halo
population out to the LMC cannot be substantiated without at least a detailed
understanding of red clump stellar evolution, binary fractions, binary mass
ratios, the spatial correlation of stars within the LMC, possible variations in
the stellar populations of satellite galaxies, and differential reddening - all
of which are highly complex.
