Finger In Chili Stumps Cops

Authorities said they doubt that a fingertip that a woman claimed to have found in a bowl of Wendy's chili last month came from a Nevada woman who lost hers in a leopard attack.

Authorities in Nevada and California are investigating the origin of the fingertip, which a woman said she found in a bowl of Wendy's chili at a San Jose, California, restaurant March 22nd.

A Nevada sheriff said the chance of any connection is "diminishing." Police in California agree, saying they're also skeptical. They point to the fact that the amount of finger lost in the leopard attack is much smaller than the fingertip recovered from the chili.

Sandy Allman lost her fingertip in February after being attacked by a leopard being kept at her home, about 60 miles west of Las Vegas.

Ayala, 39, claimed she found the 1 1/2-inch long fingertip on March 22 while dining at a Wendy's restaurant in San Jose. She later filed a claim with the franchise owner, Fresno-based JEM Management Corp., which her attorney had said was the first step before filing a lawsuit.

But on Wednesday, Ayala dropped her claim against the fast-food chain because it "has caused her great emotional distress and continues to be difficult emotionally," said her attorney, Jeffrey Janoff.

CBS' Early Show National Correspondent Hattie Kuffman reports Ayala has a history of lawsuits. She's sued a Las Vegas restaurant for food poisoning, sued a past employer, and sued an auto dealership.

As part of their investigation into where the finger might have come from, police searched Ayala's home.

Asked by a reporter whether she put the finger in the chili, Ayala shot back, "No, I did not. No, I did not. Now, I'm very angry. …Where would I get a damn finger, for God's sake?"

Wendy's spokesman Denny Lynch declined to comment on Ayala's decision to drop the lawsuit but said a reward hot line to receive tips will remain open. Wendy's has offered $50,000 to the first person who can provide verifiable information that identifies the origin of the finger.

"It's very important to us to find out what really happened at the restaurant," Lynch said. "We will continue to fully cooperate with the police investigation."

Wendy's maintains the finger did not come from any of its ingredients. None of the employees at the San Jose store had lost any fingers, and no suppliers of Wendy's ingredients reported any hand or finger injuries, the company said.

The Santa Clara County coroner's office used a partial fingerprint to search for a match in an electronic database but came up empty. DNA testing is still being conducted on the finger.