KFC says it is investigating a report that the family of a 3-year-old girl who said she was asked to leave one of its restaurants because her scars from a vicious pit bull attack were frightening other customers made up the story to get sympathy — and donations.
According to a report published by the Laurel Leader-Call on Tuesday, the story, first posted on Facebook by Victoria Wilcher's grandmother, was "generated out of whole cloth and resulted in the family bilking the public and professionals for more than $135,000 in cash, as well as gifts and free surgeries."
Kelly Mullins, Victoria's grandmother, said she was driving her granddaughter home from the hospital when they stopped at a KFC in Jackson, Mississippi, for sweet tea and mashed potatoes.
“They just told us, ‘We have to ask you to leave because her face is disrupting our customers,’" Mullins told WAPT-TV earlier this month. "[Victoria] understood exactly what they said."
But the paper cites anonymous sources "with deep knowledge of the investigation" who say Mullins and her granddaughter do not appear in surveillance video taken from the restaurant on the day of the alleged incident, and that "no orders were recorded to include mashed potatoes and sweet tea on the same transaction."
"We have taken this report very seriously from the beginning," KFC spokesman Rick Maynard told Yahoo News. "Since our franchisee was unable to verify the incident in their internal investigation, they hired a third-party consultant to conduct an independent investigation to help resolve the matter. Along with our franchisee, we remain determined to get to the truth and address the situation appropriately."
Maynard said the company expects to complete its investigation "soon."
"We are committed to the $30,000 donation to assist with Victoria’s medical bills no matter the outcome," Maynard said.
The family of the girl did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More:
http://news.yahoo.com/kfc-girl-hoax-133756398.html
I still think anything is possible, but darn it, it just didn't sound right to me. I hope we see the final outcome.
