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Wendy's diner finds human finger in her chili
- Thread starter cherrynegra
- Start date
TTATraveler
Active Member
TAC said:
Not until May Sweeps:lol:
TAC
New Member
Was finger cooked along with chili or added later??
SANTA CLARA COUNTY
Was finger cooked along with chili?
Officials say it may have been added later in the process
Dave Murphy, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, March 26, 2005
The human finger found in a bowl of chili at a San Jose Wendy's might not have been cooked with the chili and could have been snuck in later in the preparation process, Santa Clara County officials said Friday.
"We're still going to have to sit down with our crime lab experts and see if there's a test that can determine that," said Bob Dixon, a sheriff's office captain who is assigned to the coroner's office.
Working with ingredients shipped to the San Jose Wendy's, employees normally assemble ground hamburger meat with canned sauce, seasoning and beans, plus chopped frozen celery, onions and green peppers, then cook the whole mix for four to six hours.
"The possibilities are still all out there on where and when it came into the chili," said Dr. Martin Fenstersheib, Santa Clara County's health officer.
"That's a very important piece of information," said Wendy's spokesman Denny Lynch, who has said he is confident the severed finger was not part of the supply chain. "Hopefully they will be able to determine that."
Dixon said his office won't be able to do any tests until next week. He also said that examiners are trying to lift a fingerprint but won't know until next week whether it matches anyone in various databases around the country.
It had been widely reported after a news conference Wednesday that the finger had been cooked with the chili, but officials acknowledged Friday -- after questions were raised by Wendy's -- that no conclusive evidence had been found.
Lynch said the Wendy's, located at 1405 Monterey Road, has no security cameras, which conceivably could have shown if someone tampered with the chili that was served to a 39-year-old Las Vegas woman, Anna Ayala.
County Environmental Health Director Ben Gale said even if the finger is found to be uncooked, it will not change his department's investigation. Working with the state Department of Health Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency will be tracking down where the ingredients came from and whether any industrial accidents could have occurred in the food chain.
Fenstersheib said that even if the severed, 13/8-inch finger segment had been slipped in after cooking, the risk to Ayala -- or any other customers - - would be almost zero. Still, he plans to suggest to her doctor that she have a series of baseline tests soon, then get monitored over several months to ensure that nothing has changed.
At least two dozen people have called the county with questions about Wendy's and the chili.
"My health sense is that the risk is extremely low," Fenstersheib said. "Most viruses you could not obtain through consumption."
The woman involved has returned to Las Vegas and is trying to avoid the spotlight.
"I don't want to talk about it," said Ayala, who had been visiting relatives in San Jose when she stopped at the Wendy's on Tuesday night. "I'm trying to put it behind me."
When asked whether she planned to sue Wendy's, Ayala said Friday, "At this time, I don't know. At this time, I want to be left alone."
SANTA CLARA COUNTY
Was finger cooked along with chili?
Officials say it may have been added later in the process
Dave Murphy, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, March 26, 2005
The human finger found in a bowl of chili at a San Jose Wendy's might not have been cooked with the chili and could have been snuck in later in the preparation process, Santa Clara County officials said Friday.
"We're still going to have to sit down with our crime lab experts and see if there's a test that can determine that," said Bob Dixon, a sheriff's office captain who is assigned to the coroner's office.
Working with ingredients shipped to the San Jose Wendy's, employees normally assemble ground hamburger meat with canned sauce, seasoning and beans, plus chopped frozen celery, onions and green peppers, then cook the whole mix for four to six hours.
"The possibilities are still all out there on where and when it came into the chili," said Dr. Martin Fenstersheib, Santa Clara County's health officer.
"That's a very important piece of information," said Wendy's spokesman Denny Lynch, who has said he is confident the severed finger was not part of the supply chain. "Hopefully they will be able to determine that."
Dixon said his office won't be able to do any tests until next week. He also said that examiners are trying to lift a fingerprint but won't know until next week whether it matches anyone in various databases around the country.
It had been widely reported after a news conference Wednesday that the finger had been cooked with the chili, but officials acknowledged Friday -- after questions were raised by Wendy's -- that no conclusive evidence had been found.
Lynch said the Wendy's, located at 1405 Monterey Road, has no security cameras, which conceivably could have shown if someone tampered with the chili that was served to a 39-year-old Las Vegas woman, Anna Ayala.
County Environmental Health Director Ben Gale said even if the finger is found to be uncooked, it will not change his department's investigation. Working with the state Department of Health Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency will be tracking down where the ingredients came from and whether any industrial accidents could have occurred in the food chain.
Fenstersheib said that even if the severed, 13/8-inch finger segment had been slipped in after cooking, the risk to Ayala -- or any other customers - - would be almost zero. Still, he plans to suggest to her doctor that she have a series of baseline tests soon, then get monitored over several months to ensure that nothing has changed.
At least two dozen people have called the county with questions about Wendy's and the chili.
"My health sense is that the risk is extremely low," Fenstersheib said. "Most viruses you could not obtain through consumption."
The woman involved has returned to Las Vegas and is trying to avoid the spotlight.
"I don't want to talk about it," said Ayala, who had been visiting relatives in San Jose when she stopped at the Wendy's on Tuesday night. "I'm trying to put it behind me."
When asked whether she planned to sue Wendy's, Ayala said Friday, "At this time, I don't know. At this time, I want to be left alone."
horizonsboy
New Member
Hey, there's where my finger went... lol
Pumbas Nakasak
Heading for the great escape.
I would never have dreamed of eating any character from Peter Pan.
wannab@dis
Well-Known Member
Woman Who Found Finger in Chili to Sue Restaurant
Woman Who Found Finger in Chili to Sue Restaurant
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A woman who bit down on a partial finger served in a bowl of chili at a Wendy's restaurant in California said she was disgusted by the experience, while her attorney has filed a claim with the franchise owner.
Anna Ayala, 39, of Las Vegas, was dining at the Wendy's in San Jose, Calif., on March 22 when officials said she scooped up the inch-and-a-half long fingertip in a mouthful of chili.
"Just knowing that there was a human remain in my mouth ... it is disgusting. It is tearing me apart inside," Ayala told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday.
The woman's attorney, Jeffrey Janoff, said a claim has been filed with the franchise owner, Fresno, Calif.-based JEM Management, Corp. A spokesman for the company referred questions to Wendy's corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ohio.
"Their insurance company has responded to me," Janoff said, adding that the claim is the first move before filing a lawsuit.
Janoff said Ayala asked that she not be contacted for interviews but she recounted the ordeal in a televised interview.
"Suddenly, I chew something that's kind of hard, crunchy," she said. "I spit it out. At first I wasn't sure what it was. We started investigating and poking it, [with] other people, too. That's when we find there's something that looks like a nail.
"There's no words to describe what I felt, what was going through me. I mean, it is something that's — my God, it is sick."
The claim does not seek specific damages.
"Both sides now have to investigate the matter and determine what's going to be done, whether we can reach some type of out of court resolution," Janoff said.
Janoff would not speculate on the amount of money Ayala would seek if a lawsuit was filed.
"How many cases have you heard of like this? It's a little bit of a new area that we are exploring," he said. "It really depends on what she goes through and if she can recover from it emotionally. It's really too soon. I don't have a figure."
Bob Bertini, a spokesman for Wendy's International Inc., would not comment Monday on the claim.
"At this point our focus is on continuing to try to ascertain the facts in this case," Bertini said. "We continue to work closely with health officials, and we're doing everything we can to get to the truth."
Bertini said Wendy's maintains that the finger did not enter the food chain in its ingredients. All the employees at the San Jose store were found to have all their fingers, and no suppliers of Wendy's ingredients have reported "any hand or finger-related injuries," he said.
However, the Wendy's restaurant where the incident occurred, and others in the area, continue to see declining sales. Bertini said there are no reports of sales dips at any other Wendy's restaurants around the country.
"We're primarily seeing the impact at this point in the store that was involved in this, and in the immediate area," Bertini said.
Janoff said he doesn't know if a lawsuit would also name the Wendy's corporation.
"The local Wendy's store that sold it is responsible, there's no question about that," Janoff said. "Whether Wendy's corporation has some part to play, that's unclear at this point because we don't have enough information."
Meanwhile, authorities continued Monday searching for the person who lost the fingertip.
The Santa Clara County Coroner's Office was using a partial fingerprint to attempt to find a match in an electronic database.
Souce: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,151795,00.html
Woman Who Found Finger in Chili to Sue Restaurant
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A woman who bit down on a partial finger served in a bowl of chili at a Wendy's restaurant in California said she was disgusted by the experience, while her attorney has filed a claim with the franchise owner.
Anna Ayala, 39, of Las Vegas, was dining at the Wendy's in San Jose, Calif., on March 22 when officials said she scooped up the inch-and-a-half long fingertip in a mouthful of chili.
"Just knowing that there was a human remain in my mouth ... it is disgusting. It is tearing me apart inside," Ayala told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday.
The woman's attorney, Jeffrey Janoff, said a claim has been filed with the franchise owner, Fresno, Calif.-based JEM Management, Corp. A spokesman for the company referred questions to Wendy's corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ohio.
"Their insurance company has responded to me," Janoff said, adding that the claim is the first move before filing a lawsuit.
Janoff said Ayala asked that she not be contacted for interviews but she recounted the ordeal in a televised interview.
"Suddenly, I chew something that's kind of hard, crunchy," she said. "I spit it out. At first I wasn't sure what it was. We started investigating and poking it, [with] other people, too. That's when we find there's something that looks like a nail.
"There's no words to describe what I felt, what was going through me. I mean, it is something that's — my God, it is sick."
The claim does not seek specific damages.
"Both sides now have to investigate the matter and determine what's going to be done, whether we can reach some type of out of court resolution," Janoff said.
Janoff would not speculate on the amount of money Ayala would seek if a lawsuit was filed.
"How many cases have you heard of like this? It's a little bit of a new area that we are exploring," he said. "It really depends on what she goes through and if she can recover from it emotionally. It's really too soon. I don't have a figure."
Bob Bertini, a spokesman for Wendy's International Inc., would not comment Monday on the claim.
"At this point our focus is on continuing to try to ascertain the facts in this case," Bertini said. "We continue to work closely with health officials, and we're doing everything we can to get to the truth."
Bertini said Wendy's maintains that the finger did not enter the food chain in its ingredients. All the employees at the San Jose store were found to have all their fingers, and no suppliers of Wendy's ingredients have reported "any hand or finger-related injuries," he said.
However, the Wendy's restaurant where the incident occurred, and others in the area, continue to see declining sales. Bertini said there are no reports of sales dips at any other Wendy's restaurants around the country.
"We're primarily seeing the impact at this point in the store that was involved in this, and in the immediate area," Bertini said.
Janoff said he doesn't know if a lawsuit would also name the Wendy's corporation.
"The local Wendy's store that sold it is responsible, there's no question about that," Janoff said. "Whether Wendy's corporation has some part to play, that's unclear at this point because we don't have enough information."
Meanwhile, authorities continued Monday searching for the person who lost the fingertip.
The Santa Clara County Coroner's Office was using a partial fingerprint to attempt to find a match in an electronic database.
Souce: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,151795,00.html
I was waiting for her to sue. Looks like she's finally going to do it. Can you imagine how she must have felt?????
wannab@dis
Well-Known Member
cherrynegra said:
Well, I can imagine never working again or paying for a meal at Wendy's! :lol:
Pumbas Nakasak
Heading for the great escape.
cherrynegra said:
Yes I can
" £££££$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ CHA - CHINGGGG ££££££££££££££££$$$$$$$$"
Police search home of woman who found finger
SF Gate www.sfgate.com
Police search home of woman who found finger
- Alan Gathright, Dave Murphy, Maria Alicia Gaura, Chronicle Staff Writers
Friday, April 8, 2005
The mystery of the finger found in a bowl of chili at a San Jose Wendy's last month deepened Thursday with revelations that police have searched the Las Vegas home of the woman who made the revolting find.
A tearful Anna Ayala, 39, angrily denied planting the finger in a telephone interview with The Chronicle. She accused San Jose and Las Vegas officers of bursting into her home with guns drawn on her and her family Wednesday afternoon.
"They put guns to us and handcuffed us and threw us to the ground in front of all my neighbors,'' Ayala said Thursday. She accused police of terrorizing her family, ransacking her home and injuring the arm of her 13- year-old daughter.
"They treated us like trash, like terrorists. It's the worst nightmare,'' she said.
San Jose police said they and local officers executed a search warrant regarding the wayward finger in Las Vegas, but refused to say whose property had been searched and whether anything was found.
Police would not respond to Ayala's claims of rough treatment or even acknowledge searching her home.
"We're not going to release any information that is going to jeopardize our investigation,'' said San Jose police spokeswoman Officer Gina Tepoorten.
She dismissed press rumors that authorities are investigating whether the finger belonged to Ayala's dead aunt.
"It's just rumor -- we have no information that it belongs to an aunt, '' Tepoorten said.
She added that investigators are interviewing anyone who might explain Ayala's grisly discovery March 22, when she reportedly bit into the finger while eating chili with relatives she was visiting in San Jose. Police are questioning Wendy's employees, its food suppliers, diners present that day and "anyone who knows the finder of the finger," Tepoorten said.
"We want to find out who the finger belongs to, from a criminal aspect. We don't know if this was an industrial accident or something more serious like an unreported homicide,'' she added.
The search was just the latest twist in the tale that has caused Wendy's San Jose sales to plummet and turned the chain's name into a punch line for late-night TV comedians. Ayala even recounted her disgust on "Good Morning America."
Santa Clara County investigators lifted a print from the 1 1/2-inch fingertip, but database searches have not revealed a match. DNA testing is under way, as well as chemical analysis to determine if the finger was preserved or cooked.
Meanwhile, Ayala denies even having a dead aunt. She said her family has become the subject of a bizarre witch hunt.
"Right here, I just heard on the TV news that my son cut off my daughter's finger and I put it in the (chili),'' the woman fumed. "It's just ridiculous.
"They're lying, and they're very, very wrong. They're doing all this damage to me, and they're going to pay for it," said Ayala, who has hired a civil attorney to investigate a possible lawsuit against Wendy's.
Ayala refused to say what police questioned her about and what they were searching for. "They went through everything, my clothes, my drawers. My garage looks like a tornado hit it," she said.
Ayala's attorney, Jeffrey Janoff, did not want to discuss the specifics of the case late Thursday. "It's apparently under police investigation, and we await the results of that investigation."
In what a Wendy's official insisted is a coincidence, the restaurant chain announced Thursday that it is offering a $50,000 reward to the first person who provides "verifiable information" that reveals how the finger got in the chili.
"We believe someone knows exactly what happened," Tom Mueller, Wendy's president and chief operating officer, said in a written statement, "and hopefully the reward will encourage this person to come forward."
But Ayala said a San Jose officer told a 23-year-old man who lives in her home "the Wendy's corporation will pay him so much money'' if he provides information about the finger case.
In a telephone interview Thursday night, Wendy's spokesman Bob Bertini said he was unaware that Ayala's home had been searched. "We've had no information on that so far," he said.
Bertini acknowledged that the chain's business had suffered since the finger was found, with sales being "significantly impacted" in the Bay Area.
He said it is premature to discuss what action, if any, Wendy's will take if it turns out that the finger was a hoax.
Wendy's officials have said in earlier statements that they have checked with employees and suppliers and are convinced that the supply chain is clean. Wendy's asks anyone with information to call (800) 821-3348.
SF Gate www.sfgate.com
Police search home of woman who found finger
- Alan Gathright, Dave Murphy, Maria Alicia Gaura, Chronicle Staff Writers
Friday, April 8, 2005
The mystery of the finger found in a bowl of chili at a San Jose Wendy's last month deepened Thursday with revelations that police have searched the Las Vegas home of the woman who made the revolting find.
A tearful Anna Ayala, 39, angrily denied planting the finger in a telephone interview with The Chronicle. She accused San Jose and Las Vegas officers of bursting into her home with guns drawn on her and her family Wednesday afternoon.
"They put guns to us and handcuffed us and threw us to the ground in front of all my neighbors,'' Ayala said Thursday. She accused police of terrorizing her family, ransacking her home and injuring the arm of her 13- year-old daughter.
"They treated us like trash, like terrorists. It's the worst nightmare,'' she said.
San Jose police said they and local officers executed a search warrant regarding the wayward finger in Las Vegas, but refused to say whose property had been searched and whether anything was found.
Police would not respond to Ayala's claims of rough treatment or even acknowledge searching her home.
"We're not going to release any information that is going to jeopardize our investigation,'' said San Jose police spokeswoman Officer Gina Tepoorten.
She dismissed press rumors that authorities are investigating whether the finger belonged to Ayala's dead aunt.
"It's just rumor -- we have no information that it belongs to an aunt, '' Tepoorten said.
She added that investigators are interviewing anyone who might explain Ayala's grisly discovery March 22, when she reportedly bit into the finger while eating chili with relatives she was visiting in San Jose. Police are questioning Wendy's employees, its food suppliers, diners present that day and "anyone who knows the finder of the finger," Tepoorten said.
"We want to find out who the finger belongs to, from a criminal aspect. We don't know if this was an industrial accident or something more serious like an unreported homicide,'' she added.
The search was just the latest twist in the tale that has caused Wendy's San Jose sales to plummet and turned the chain's name into a punch line for late-night TV comedians. Ayala even recounted her disgust on "Good Morning America."
Santa Clara County investigators lifted a print from the 1 1/2-inch fingertip, but database searches have not revealed a match. DNA testing is under way, as well as chemical analysis to determine if the finger was preserved or cooked.
Meanwhile, Ayala denies even having a dead aunt. She said her family has become the subject of a bizarre witch hunt.
"Right here, I just heard on the TV news that my son cut off my daughter's finger and I put it in the (chili),'' the woman fumed. "It's just ridiculous.
"They're lying, and they're very, very wrong. They're doing all this damage to me, and they're going to pay for it," said Ayala, who has hired a civil attorney to investigate a possible lawsuit against Wendy's.
Ayala refused to say what police questioned her about and what they were searching for. "They went through everything, my clothes, my drawers. My garage looks like a tornado hit it," she said.
Ayala's attorney, Jeffrey Janoff, did not want to discuss the specifics of the case late Thursday. "It's apparently under police investigation, and we await the results of that investigation."
In what a Wendy's official insisted is a coincidence, the restaurant chain announced Thursday that it is offering a $50,000 reward to the first person who provides "verifiable information" that reveals how the finger got in the chili.
"We believe someone knows exactly what happened," Tom Mueller, Wendy's president and chief operating officer, said in a written statement, "and hopefully the reward will encourage this person to come forward."
But Ayala said a San Jose officer told a 23-year-old man who lives in her home "the Wendy's corporation will pay him so much money'' if he provides information about the finger case.
In a telephone interview Thursday night, Wendy's spokesman Bob Bertini said he was unaware that Ayala's home had been searched. "We've had no information on that so far," he said.
Bertini acknowledged that the chain's business had suffered since the finger was found, with sales being "significantly impacted" in the Bay Area.
He said it is premature to discuss what action, if any, Wendy's will take if it turns out that the finger was a hoax.
Wendy's officials have said in earlier statements that they have checked with employees and suppliers and are convinced that the supply chain is clean. Wendy's asks anyone with information to call (800) 821-3348.
wannab@dis
Well-Known Member
Just saw that story and was about to post it! This may get interesting. :lol:
Pix E. Dust
Well-Known Member
This is so bizarre! I'll have to follow it closely.
Do you think she planted it?
Do you think she planted it?
Dizknee_Phreek
Well-Known Member
Sounds to me like Wendy's may be paying someone to make these crazy allegations just to clear their name. I don't think she would've planted the finger...but crazier things have been done, I suppose. But why would the police burst into her home, drag everyone out, and handcuff them? How is that right? Unless, of course, we're not getting the full story.
wannab@dis
Well-Known Member
Dizknee_Phreek said:
I believe it's SOP to handcuff anyone that is interfering with a search warrant. I have no evidence that happened, just a guess.
I saw news footage here locally in San Francisco showing the daughter had her arm in a sling and the mother was pi$$ed!! I thought she was gonna slap the reporter.
TAC
New Member
The truth may be coming out:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/04/08/wendy.finger.ap/index.html
Woman claiming finger in chili has litigious history
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- The woman who claims she bit into a human finger while eating chili at a Wendy's restaurant has a history of filing lawsuits -- including a claim against another fast-food restaurant.
Anna Ayala, 39, who hired a San Jose, California, attorney to represent her in the Wendy's case, has been involved in at least half a dozen legal battles in the San Francisco Bay area, according to court records.
She brought a suit against an ex-boss in 1998 for sexual harassment and sued an auto dealership in 2000, alleging the wheel fell off her car. That suit was dismissed after Ayala fired her lawyer, who said she had threatened him.
Speaking through the front door of her Las Vegas home Friday, Ayala claimed police are out to get her and were unnecessarily rough as they executed a search warrant at her home on Wednesday.
"Lies, lies, lies, that's all I am hearing," she said. "They should look at Wendy's. What are they hiding? Why are we being victimized again and again?"
Ayala acknowledged, however, that her family received a settlement for their medical expenses about a year ago after her daughter, Genesis, got sick from food at an El Pollo Loco restaurant in Las Vegas. She declined to provide any further details.
San Jose police have joined the Las Vegas police fraud unit in the investigation into how a 1 1/2-long fingertip ended up in Ayala's bowl of chili at the San Jose Wendy's on March 22. Ayala has sued the franchise owner, Fresno, California-based JEM Management Corp.
Wendy's spokesman Bob Bertini would not comment on the investigation Friday.
The company, however, maintains that the finger did not enter the food chain in its ingredients. The employees at the San Jose store were found to have all their fingers, and no suppliers of Wendy's ingredients have reported any hand or finger injuries, the company said.
On Thursday, Wendy's offered a $50,000 reward to anyone providing verifiable information leading to the positive identification of the origin of the finger.
Investigators would not say what they were looking for in the search of Ayala's house. Ken Bono, a family friend who lives at the home, said officers searched freezers, a picnic cooler in the back yard and the belongings of an aunt who used to live at the house.
San Jose police dismissed rumors that the finger might have belonged to Ayala's late aunt. However, investigators said they were still looking into the possibility that the missing finger was the result of an industrial accident or foul play.
"The simple fact of the matter is that the finger came from somebody. Where's that person at?" said Sgt. Nick Muyo, a spokesman for the San Jose Police Department.
The Santa Clara County Coroner's Office used a partial fingerprint to attempt to find a match in an electronic database of missing people and those with criminal histories, but came up empty. DNA testing is still being conducted on the finger.
Bertini said Wendy's stores in the area have suffered from declining sales since the incident.
"Obviously the store has been down significantly," he said. "This has been an ordeal for all of us. Hopefully there will be a resolution soon."
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/04/08/wendy.finger.ap/index.html
Woman claiming finger in chili has litigious history
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- The woman who claims she bit into a human finger while eating chili at a Wendy's restaurant has a history of filing lawsuits -- including a claim against another fast-food restaurant.
Anna Ayala, 39, who hired a San Jose, California, attorney to represent her in the Wendy's case, has been involved in at least half a dozen legal battles in the San Francisco Bay area, according to court records.
She brought a suit against an ex-boss in 1998 for sexual harassment and sued an auto dealership in 2000, alleging the wheel fell off her car. That suit was dismissed after Ayala fired her lawyer, who said she had threatened him.
Speaking through the front door of her Las Vegas home Friday, Ayala claimed police are out to get her and were unnecessarily rough as they executed a search warrant at her home on Wednesday.
"Lies, lies, lies, that's all I am hearing," she said. "They should look at Wendy's. What are they hiding? Why are we being victimized again and again?"
Ayala acknowledged, however, that her family received a settlement for their medical expenses about a year ago after her daughter, Genesis, got sick from food at an El Pollo Loco restaurant in Las Vegas. She declined to provide any further details.
San Jose police have joined the Las Vegas police fraud unit in the investigation into how a 1 1/2-long fingertip ended up in Ayala's bowl of chili at the San Jose Wendy's on March 22. Ayala has sued the franchise owner, Fresno, California-based JEM Management Corp.
Wendy's spokesman Bob Bertini would not comment on the investigation Friday.
The company, however, maintains that the finger did not enter the food chain in its ingredients. The employees at the San Jose store were found to have all their fingers, and no suppliers of Wendy's ingredients have reported any hand or finger injuries, the company said.
On Thursday, Wendy's offered a $50,000 reward to anyone providing verifiable information leading to the positive identification of the origin of the finger.
Investigators would not say what they were looking for in the search of Ayala's house. Ken Bono, a family friend who lives at the home, said officers searched freezers, a picnic cooler in the back yard and the belongings of an aunt who used to live at the house.
San Jose police dismissed rumors that the finger might have belonged to Ayala's late aunt. However, investigators said they were still looking into the possibility that the missing finger was the result of an industrial accident or foul play.
"The simple fact of the matter is that the finger came from somebody. Where's that person at?" said Sgt. Nick Muyo, a spokesman for the San Jose Police Department.
The Santa Clara County Coroner's Office used a partial fingerprint to attempt to find a match in an electronic database of missing people and those with criminal histories, but came up empty. DNA testing is still being conducted on the finger.
Bertini said Wendy's stores in the area have suffered from declining sales since the incident.
"Obviously the store has been down significantly," he said. "This has been an ordeal for all of us. Hopefully there will be a resolution soon."