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Law enforcement specialists have lifted a fingerprint from the human digit found last week in a bowl of Wendy's chili in San Jose, but a search of fingerprint databases has so far failed to match the finger with its original owner, Santa Clara County authorities said Thursday.
But the sleuthing has just begun, and additional tests are under way to unravel the mystery of where the finger came from and at what point it entered the food supply.
While health officials are investigating the food-supply network to see whether the contamination was the result of an industrial accident, other tests are aimed at determining whether the finger could have been planted intentionally.
"We did get a print, and we've run it through several databases, but we haven't been successful," said Santa Clara County Medical Examiner Joseph O'Hara. "There are still some databases to investigate. I would be delighted if we could match it to a print.
"Our next test will be to determine whether the tissue contains embalming compounds or formalin," O'Hara said. "That will allow us to prove, or disprove, whether the finger was from a cadaver at a funeral home or a teaching institution."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/04/01/BAGLHC1Q0F1.DTL