The Odd Truth, Sept. 26, 2003

The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Brian Bernbaum. A new collection of stories is published each weekday. On weekends, you can read a week's worth of The Odd Truth.

BALTIMORE - No, it's not the other dark meat. A patron of a Popeye's restaurant in Baltimore says he bit into a mouse that had been fried along with the chicken. Tony Hill says he was eating the second piece of his three-piece meal when he made the unappetizing discovery. He filed a complaint with the health department. Officials say that same restaurant has been closed twice before for infestation or unsanitary conditions. Inspectors checked the place yesterday and didn't find any rodents. But officials say they'll be back.

'Sex For Snacks' In Court

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania - The sex for snacks case is going to trial after all. Eileen Mayfield is a former Pennsylvania jail guard who allegedly bribed male inmates for sex - by giving them candy and cigarettes. The state Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling that tossed out the charges against her. A county judge ruled the inmates consented to the sex acts. But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered that she stand trail for violating the state's institutional sexual-assault law. Mayfield was a jail guard in Montgomery County for 18 years. Her lawyer says she's innocent of any crime.

Ferrari Stolen During Test Drive

ARDMORE, Pa. - Where do you hide a $729,000 Ferrari during rush hour?

That's what police in the Philadelphia suburbs want to know, after a con man drove off with a red Ferrari F50 during a test drive. The Ferrari F50 - which can hit 60 mph in less than 4 seconds and tops out at 203 mph - hasn't been seen since.

Police theorize it was hustled into a trailer and quickly shipped overseas for sale on the black market.

The salesman from Algar Ferrari in Rosemont first took the prospective buyer for a spin, then let him get behind the wheel. During the test drive, the man - clean-cut and sporting a shirt, tie and apparent Rolex watch - pulled to the side of the road and asked the salesman to drive back to the dealership.

When the salesman got out, the thief sped off.

Police were summoned, but never spotted the vehicle. Now they're looking for the con man, described as a 6-foot, slender white male with reddish-brown hair and glasses.

Police are also exploring whether the case is tied to similar Ferrari thefts in North Carolina and Long Island, N.Y.

When Identity Theft Backfires

CLINTON, Conn. - A good rule of thumb for an identity thief is not to steal the name of someone whose reputation is worse than yours - such as a sex offender.

Police said James Perry stole the name and identity of a neighbor who turned out to be a convicted sex offender.

Perry stole the identity of Robert Kowalski in order to obtain a drivers license, police said. Perry was living in Florida at the time and Kowalski was his neighbor.

Perry had four drunken driving arrests, which he believed would make it difficult to get a license legally in Connecticut, police said.

Perry moved to Connecticut about a year ago and things went well until Perry was arrested for disorderly conduct.

A routine computer check found that "Kowalski" was a convicted sex offender in Michigan and not registered as required with the state of Connecticut.

Every bit of identification in his possession labeled the suspect as "Kowalski," but man himself was adamant that he was not a convicted sex offender, police said.

Finally, a check of his fingerprints revealed "Kowalski" to be James Perry.

Perry was released from Superior Court in Middletown Thursday on a promise to appear for his next court date Oct. 10 on charges of criminal impersonation, with charges of identity theft and forgery.

Grizzley Bear Victim Duct-Tapes Wounds

WASILLA, Alaska - A 54-year-old hunter says he can laugh about it now - but he sure wasn't laughing then.

Bill Murphy survived an attack by a grizzly bear this month while he was hunting on a remote trail in Alaska.

Murphy says he used duct tape to bind his bite wounds, then rode an all-terrain vehicle to his pick-up truck and drove himself to a hospital. The hunter says the attack happened when he surprised a grizzly cub and its mother.

He says the mother bear quickly pinned him face-down, clamping her jaws around his shoulder and shaking him like a rag. He says he felt teeth pressing on his skin - then a "pop" as they sliced through.

The bear then let go, standing over Murphy and panting and drooling on his head. It then moved away. Murphy says he has no idea how long the attack lasted - but says it felt like "two lifetimes."

The Mothman Of Point Pleasant

POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. - Mayor Jim Wilson was skeptical that a 37-year-old legend about a red-eyed, winged apparition would draw visitors to this Ohio River town.

But, after seeing a steady stream of tourists looking for all things Mothman, Wilson is a believer. "I don't care why they're coming, as long as they are," Wilson said. "If they want Mothman, then we'll give them Mothman."

Point Pleasant has embraced the local legend, holding an annual Mothman Festival this year, and, recently erecting a metal statue on a downtown street.

Some people think the statue is too realistic.

"It's those eyes. When it's dark and you put a light on them, they just come right back at you," said Charles Humphreys, director of Point Pleasant's Main Street program. "They look alive. Even if you've seen it before, it kind of makes you jump."

The first Mothman sighting was reported Nov. 15, 1966. Others later came forward to say they had seen a gray creature, standing 7 feet tall, with bright red eyes and wings like a bird. The sightings ended abruptly Dec. 15, 1967, when the Silver Bridge collapsed, killing 45 people.

The 2002 movie, "The Mothman Prophecies," was based on the Point Pleasant-area legend.