If you’re flying for the holidays, police have a warning for you: baggage thieves are ready for the rush of travelers.
Port of Seattle Police are unable to say how many bags have been stolen this year; the cyberattack in August took down a lot of data. Its most recent numbers show 341 stolen bags in 2023, as of Nov. 1 that year, and in 2022, a record high of 477.
Police told KIRO 7 they’ve seen baggage thieves dressed up in suits or dressed down but their behavior gives them away: they often look for bags off different carousels or have difficulties getting the handle out of bags.
They’re advising travelers to get to baggage claim as fast as possible.
But what if you can’t get there to claim it?
That’s what happened to one man from Carnation, whose flight was delayed out of San Francisco.
“I thought they would take [the bags off] and protect them or something like that,” David Holladay said. “That’s not what happened.”
Delays are common during the holidays as difficult weather conditions pop up.
But in Holladay’s case, an Apple AirTag made a huge difference.
On KIRO 7 at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, reporter Linzi Sheldon shows you how Holladay tracked down his bag to a spot 20 miles away using that AirTag, the help of police, and a lot of determination. And we have strategies from a detective on the best ways to protect your stuff this holiday travel season.
©2024 Cox Media Group
