Charles Ramsey helped in rescue of missing women

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(Gallery by Scott Shaw, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Charles Ramsey wants the world to know he is not endorsing restaurants offering Ramsey Burgers, or giving him free burgers for life, and is likewise disgusted with an online video game produced in Taiwan that features him.

The 43-year-old Cleveland man who helped rescue Amanda Berry, her daughter, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight on May 6 from a Seymour Avenue home in Cleveland wants help for the victims and no undue publicity, his attorney, Patricia Walker, said Friday.

"I want everyone to know that I have nothing to do with this trash," Ramsey said in a written statement through the Medina firm of Walker & Jocke.

Walker said Ramsey is disgusted with the online video game that depicts him and Ariel Castro, the man accused of holding the women hostages, throwing hamburgers at each other.

Ramsey gained worldwide acclaim when he stopped eating his a McDonald Big Mac to help free Berry, who was trying to get out through a door on a next-door house on Seymour Avenue on the city's near West Side. His interviews have gone viral on the Web. Ramsey's video interviews , in particular, went viral online.

Restaurants began paying homage to Ramsey soon after the rescue. Hodges and Pura Vida in downtown Cleveland, where Ramsey works as a dishwasher, created the Ramsey Burger.

Chef co-owner Chris Hodgson described the sandwich as an 8-ounce burger of Certified Angus Beef with a secret sauce.

Hodgson's partner, Scott Kuhn, owner of the Driftwood Restaurant Group, then pushed for a "Chuck Card" that Ramsey could use to get a free hamburger in any of the participating restaurants.

That led to more than a dozen restaurants pledging to serve Ramsey a free burger anytime he wishes.



Kuhn issued a statement about 6:45 p.m. that said the burger will be removed from the menu.



"The Ramsey burger was named to honor an employee at a time he indicated he would be returning to his job at Hodge's. It was not developed to generate additional revenue for the restaurant -- nor has it," the statement said. "We are saddened to hear that Chuck did not take this -- or the offer of so many Cleveland restaurants to give him free meals -- in the spirit we intended."



Walker, who got Ramsey as a client on referral from another attorney, said he does not endorse the consortium of Northeast Ohio restaurants offering "Ramsey Burgers" or who are promoting that Ramsey can receive free burgers for life.

"I never told these people they could use my name for this," Ramsey said in the written statement.

Walker also said Ramsey has not authorized any merchandise and has no website or social media accounts.

"He is encouraging people to do things that will help the victims," Walker said. "He was never asked about authorizing Ramsey Burgers."

Walker said Ramsey hired her seeking protection with intellectual and property rights, seeking more control over his likeness, name and voice.