Airline Passenger Claims Her Jacket Was Missing from Luggage, Later Found It on Facebook Marketplace

By Laura Stewart November 10, 2019 at 12:50am

An Oklahoma woman claims she discovered more than $1,000 worth of items missing from her luggage after a recent American Airlines trip departing from the Tulsa Airport. Soon afterward, she said she noticed some of the missing items for sale online and began to suspect who may have stolen them.

Kinley Rice said she left Tulsa with a new Patagonia jacket, lululemon leggings, a sweater, a pair of jeans and a toiletry bag tucked into her luggage, along with the rest of her clothes and belongings, according to KJRH.

However, she told the news outlet that when she reached her destination, the items had vanished from her bag.

Even more concerning, Rice said the luggage tag containing all of her personal contact information was also missing.

“I felt violated,” Rice told KJRH. “I was just in a hotel room by myself. I was just so uncomfortable because I didn’t know who had my information.”

The young woman was worried that she could be in danger.

“Anybody can find you through your phone number,” she said. “So that was scary.”

Rice had no theories about who may have taken her items, however, until she was browsing Facebook Marketplace not long after the trip.

While scrolling through the popular online seller, she said she spotted a Patagonia jacket that looked eerily similar to the one that had vanished from her bag.

She managed to find the receipt for the missing jacket, comparing it to the barcode on the tag of the coat being sold. The codes matched, according to Rice.

As she continued sleuthing, Rice apparently discovered that the item’s seller worked in baggage services at the Tulsa International Airport. Rice said the seller was an employee for Piedmont Airlines, which contracts with American Airlines for luggage handling, and could easily have had access to Rice’s bag.

“You think you can trust people, you know, when you pay money for them to be responsible for your bag,” she told KJRH.

“Obviously your bags are going to get beat up and stuff being thrown around, but your contents inside should all be in there once you reach where you’re going,” she added.

Rice said she filed a claim with American Airlines customer service, along with a police report with the Tulsa Police Department.

“American is very concerned with these allegations,” a representative for the airline told The Western Journal. “We are investigating this in coordination with Piedmont, and are fully cooperating with authorities.”

According to Rice, American Airlines has agreed to compensate her $1,000 for the stolen items, KJRH reported.

Submit a Correction →