The case of the magic fingertip

April 14, 2005

In case it didn’t seem weird enough that a woman found a fingertip in her Wendy’s chili, don’t worry — it just got even weirder.

Now someone is trying to claim the fingertip is hers.

Woman Thinks Fingertip in Chili Is Hers:

A woman who lost part of her finger in a leopard attack believes it was her body part that allegedly showed up a month later in a bowl of fast-food chili in California.

A lawyer for Sandy Allman, 59, said she wants to participate in any DNA testing of the finger, which she said she last saw packed in ice in a Las Vegas emergency room. Doctors told her it could not be reattached, and she does not know what happened to it after that, lawyer Philip Sheldon said.

The hospital said it cannot account for the 3/4-inch fingertip, which Allman lost Feb. 23 in the attack at an exotic animal compound at her home in rural Pahrump, about 60 miles west of Las Vegas.

That story sounds crazy, except when you hear that the hospital can’t account for the fingertip. Hmmm, where’d it go? Maybe into someone’s chili?

Oh, here’s the best part of this development:

He said Allman realizes her lost fingertip is only half as long as the one that Ayala claims to have found.

San Jose police said DNA tests would be taken to determine the finger’s rightful owner.

Well, then. It seems we’ll soon know if we have a match. Between the DNA test and the $50,000 reward from Wendy’s for the finger’s original owner.

Imagine if this woman is right in claiming the fingertip. That means it hightailed it from the hospital in San Jose, traveled 60 miles to Las Vegas, and then found a Wendy’s and managed to jump into the vat of chili. Wait, who has the movie rights to this one?