FERNDALE — A 43-year-old woman who worked at a Dairy Queen restaurant in Ferndale has been arrested, suspected of spiking the malts of two customers with a chemical used to clean the fat fryers.
Alexandra Margot Georgia Dale was booked into the Whatcom County Jail on Friday for investigation of two counts of second-degree assault.
Ferndale police Lt. Bill Hatchett said two men who ordered malts Feb. 25 reported an immediate burning sensation in their mouths. One sought treatment at a local hospital.
The Whatcom County Health Department analyzed the malt powder and concluded it was contaminated by sodium hydroxide “and cleaner components, presumably the fat fryer cleaner,” Ferndale police said in a news release.
Investigators arrested the woman after they viewed restaurant surveillance tapes. Police believe Dale acted alone and that it was an isolated incident, the release said.
They did not offer a possible motive, and restaurant owner Scott Whitman said he had no idea what could have prompted the contamination.
Whitman told The Bellingham Herald that Dale stopped showing up to work after the restaurant began working with police on the investigation, and she quit Feb. 28.
Whitman said business has suffered since people heard about the incident, and he’s had to cut back his workers’ shifts.
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