Las Vegas ? Anna Ayala — the woman who found the now-world-famous finger in the chili — spent the weekend in seclusion, even as tipsters called in potential leads about its origin.

And Ayala is quite upset, said Ken Bono, a family friend who lives with Ayala. Eight police officers searched her home Wednesday and took away, among other things, phone records, an empty plastic bag, a blue cooler and pay stubs for a niece who used to live with her but has since moved to Texas.

“I used the cooler to keep beer in when I barbecue,” said Bono, 24. “I had to get a new one.”

Ayala had spoken freely, emotionally and with disgust when she first told the San Jose Mercury News last month about finding the 1 1/2-inch chunk of finger in her chili on a visit to a Wendy’s restaurant on Monterey Highway in San Jose.

She took it to the store workers, who at first thought it was a bit of lettuce and stirred it around in the cup.

The Santa Clara County coroner determined otherwise, and since then the hunt for the finger’s owner has become quite an enterprise.

Wendy’s has posted a $50,000 reward for verified information leading to its owner.

Denny Lynch, Wendy’s vice president of communications, said Saturday that the chain’s private investigators had received “dozens” of phone calls about the mysterious finger from tipsters, including a few crank calls. He said they were passing along the tips to authorities, but added that Wendy’s has no idea what relevance — if any — the new information may have.

“We won’t comment on the calls because we don’t know if they’re material or not,” Lynch said. “Some of the tips have been productive, and we have turned over some leads that are hopeful. Time will tell.”

Genesis Reyes, 13, right, describes how police detained her and allegedly hurt her arm as they executed a search warrant at the Las Vegas home of her mother, Anna Ayala. Looking on are family friend Ken Bono, 24, who lives at the residence, and cousin Priscilla Chavarin, 16. Ayala, who claims she bit into a human finger while eating chili at a Wendy's restaurant, has a history of filing lawsuits, including a claim against another fast-food restaurant.

San Jose Police spokesman Nick Muyo said Saturday he did not expect to have any new information to release about their investigation until late next week.

“We just want to step back and take a deep breath,” Muyo said.

Jeffrey Janoff, Ayala’s attorney, said Sunday he had nothing new to say about the case.

Also Sunday, most of the tables at the now-infamous Monterey Highway Wendy’s were empty, as half-a-dozen patrons munched on cheeseburgers and fries.

The manager on duty, who gave her name as Lucia, declined to comment on the post-finger-finding climate and new revelations about Ayala’s penchant for filing claims. Court records show Ayala has filed two lawsuits in Santa Clara County and she has told reporters that she received a financial settlement in a claim against a restaurant in Las Vegas.

But one employee at the cash register grimaced when asked how business was.

Ayala, for her part, is staying hunkered down in her white stucco two-story home, on a suburban street in which all the houses pretty much look the same.

Everyone on the block seems fed up with the attention from reporters trying to learn if she was a victim or a perpetrator.

“I’ve had 47 reporters come by, with what is probably a loose exaggeration,” one neighbor said. “If you want to know about her, talk to her.”

There’s no evidence that Ayala or a confederate planted the stray body part in the chili, but Wendy’s officials say they don’t believe it came from the fast-food chain.