McDonald's Free Burgers for Charles Ramsey Now Being Served for a Year

Charles Ramsey, the hero and McDonald's enthusiast who helped in the rescue of the Ohio kidnap victims earlier this month, can now enjoy free burgers from his favorite fast food restaurant for the next year.

McDonald's has joined more than a dozen Cleveland-area restaurants offering Ramsey free food after his many colorful interviews where he described walking away from a half-eaten Big Mac to help free Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight from the home they had been kept in for more than a decade.

The interview was quickly auto-tuned and Ramsey became an instant celebrity.

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After tweeting about Ramsey shortly after the rescue, McDonald's has followed through and offered him free food for a year, and also contributed $10,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

We salute the courage of Ohio kidnap victims & respect their privacy. Way to go Charles Ramsey- we'll be in touch.

— McDonald's Corp. (@McDonaldsCorp) May 7, 2013

"We can confirm that the local owner-operators of the McDonald’s restaurants in Mr. Ramsey’s neighborhood have connected with him and offered complimentary McDonald's food for the next year," company spokesperson Heidi Barker told Business Insider in an email.

McDonald's was tight-lipped about Ramsey at first, which a spokesperson said was out of respect for the victims and their families. But others speculated it was in light of news about Ramsey's criminal past. He has reportedly been convicted of domestic violence, burglary, and drug possession. His last offense was in 2003.

But that didn’t stop Cleveland-area restaurants from honoring him.

"We want to honor our local hero with local food," Scott Kuhn, who operates four of the restaurants participating in the offer, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "He stopped his meal midway through to help those women. We're now making sure he has other opportunities to go out and fully enjoy his burger."





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