Stolen bag tracked to airport staffer’s home

A passenger managed to track down her stolen luggage with the help of her Apple Watch and you wouldn’t believe where she found it.

A Spirit Airlines passenger managed to track down her stolen luggage after it vanished when she arrived at a Florida airport — using one of the stolen items to aid in her desperate search.

Paola Garcia had been waiting for her small pink hard shell luggage, containing several Apple products like her personal MacBook and two Apple Watches, at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport’s carousel after returning home to the Sunshine State, according to Florida publication Local 10.

The exact timing of the incident remains unclear, but Ms Garcia’s desperation to find her stolen property led her to the apparent culprit’s house even before local cops.

Paola Garcia said the luggage she was forced to check by Spirit Airlines never appeared on the baggage carousel after arriving in Florida. Picture: Local 10

Ms Garcia told the outlet she always carried on her luggage without issue, but this time, employees of the US budget carrier, Spirit Airlines, made her check the bag before she departed from New York.

She panicked as she watched others grab their bags from the carousel, and her luggage didn’t appear.

“In my mind, I’m thinking I need my computer because I go to the university, I need my computer no matter what,” Ms Garcia told Local 10.

Ms Garcia said she waited “at least two hours” before giving up hope that her luggage would arrive on the conveyor belt.

Her watch was pinging at the home of Junior Bazile, an airport employee who had been working when Garcia arrived in Fort Lauderdale. . Picture: Local 10

Spirit Airlines employees told Ms Garcia not to worry and that her luggage would be sent to her house, she told the outlet.

The next day, she began receiving a ping from one of her Apple Watches – except it wasn’t coming from the airport but 15 minutes away at a Fort Lauderdale home.

It was the home of Junior Bazile, who worked in the retail store Paradies Shops at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Local 10.

Ms Garcia went to Bazile’s home and found her luggage, but her valuables were gone. . Picture: Local 10

Determined to get her belongings back, she went to the home, found her suitcase and her things, and immediately called the police.

When police arrived, Ms Garcia said, the “first thing” they did was ask why she was at the home.

“The police told me was like, ‘What are you doing here? This is so dangerous for you to be here,’” Ms Garcia explained.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office found that Bazile, 29, was an airport employee and was working the day Garcia’s things went missing.

Law enforcement obtained pictures of Bazile rummaging through Ms Garcia’s suitcase in the back of the store where he worked at the airport. Picture: Local 10

Unfortunately, by the time police arrived, the alleged airport thief had already gotten rid of her belongings.

An investigation was launched, and police found pictures of Bazile rummaging through Garcia’s suitcase in the back of the store where he worked at the airport.

Bazile was arrested and charged with grand theft — a felony offence in Florida if the valuables taken are worth over $US750 ($A1130).

If found guilty of grand theft, the accused could face five to 30 years in prison and fines ranging from $US5,000 to $US10,000 ($A7500 to $A15,000) depending on the case.

But Ms Garcia worries Bazile may be part of a bigger operation of thieves, according to the outlet.

Bazile was arrested and charged with grand theft — a felony offence in Florida.. Picture: Local 10

“Personally, I don’t think it’s one person working in the airport, I think it’s a group,” she said. “One person can’t just do that, take bags.”

Law enforcement did not reveal how Bazile was able to steal the luggage.

After it was confirmed that MsGarcia’s luggage was stolen, Spirit Airlines released a statement saying it reimbursed her as a “courtesy”.

“We issued a reimbursement check to the guest as a courtesy, even though we are not currently aware of any evidence that any Spirit employee was involved,” the airline told the outlet. “We take any allegation of this nature seriously, and we are investigating.”

This is not the first time a Florida airport employee has been caught red-handed stealing from travellers.

In June 2023, surveillance footage captured two TSA officers allegedly stealing at least $US600 (A900) in cash and other items from unsuspecting passengers’ luggage at Miami International Airport.

Video from the checkpoint shows the two accused thieves at the baggage drop-off section working together to take money from wallets and purses that passed them on their way to the X-ray machine. The thefts occurred while the passengers were distracted by the screening process and not paying attention to their items.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission