The story of a scarred girl getting kicked out of a Mississippi KFC went viral last week, but sources say the entire claim is false.
KFC is still investigating in the case of a three-year-old allegedly asked to leave their restaurant because her scars upset other customers. However, sources close to the matter say that investigators can't find any evidence to back up the story.
Victoria Wilcher and her grandmother, Kelly Mullins, allegedly do not appear on the surveillance video, and "no orders were recorded to include mashed potatoes and sweet tea on the same transaction."
Mullins claimed that she ordered mashed potatoes and sweet tea for Wilcher, who is unable to eat solid food.
The child has undergone several surgeries to repair a broken right eye socket, cheekbones, nose, and jaw caused by an April pit bull attack. Her right eye was removed and the right side of her face is paralyzed.
Wilcher wears a patch over her missing right eye, and has scars across her mouth, jaw, and neck. Her grandmother claimed in a Facebook post that the injuries apparently disturbed a KFC employee three weeks ago.
"They just told us, they said, 'We have to ask you to leave because her face is disrupting our customers,'" Mullins told WAPT-TV. Mullins said Victoria cried all the way home and is now ashamed of her appearance.
KFC said the Jackson franchise was unable to verify Mullins' claims.
"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," KFC spokesman Rick Maynard told Yahoo News. "Along with our franchisee, we remain determined to get to the truth and address the situation appropriately."
After the story broke last week, KFC apologized for their employee's alleged behavior, and promised to donate $30,000 to the girl's medical bills, "regardless of the outcome" of the investigation.
The Associated Press reports that the family has received gifts and more than $135,000 in donations since the KFC story took off. Wilcher's aunt, Teri Rials Bates, said that the story is not a hoax.
"The article circling the web calling this a hoax is untrue," she wrote on Facebook. "The investigation is not complete. It is not over until KFC releases a statement."
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/kfc.apologizes.after.scarred.3.year.old.restaurant.donates.30000/38166.htm
