Spirit Airlines passenger Paola Garcia took matters into her own hands when she used her Apple Watch to track down her luggage that was stolen at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Per Local 10 News, the location where Garcia’s stolen luggage was found was a home linked to 29-year-old Junior Bazile, an employee at the airport. Garcia provided details about the incident in an interview with the news outlet, saying that she began to panic when she was unable to retrieve her luggage from one of the airport’s terminals.
“In my mind, I’m thinking I need my computer because I go to the university, I need my computer no matter what,” Garcia recalled. “I was waiting there at least two hours.”
Garcia said her pink hard-shell suitcase is always her carry-on luggage, but she was made to check it for that particular flight. She was later unable to retrieve her luggage from the conveyor belt because it had allegedly been stolen.
An arrest affidavit stated that Garcia was unable to retrieve her luggage because Bazile – a worker at a retail store in the airport – had taken it. Pictures also showed Bazile searching Garcia’s luggage at the back of the airport retail store, Local 10 News reported.
The police report stated that items Belize took from Garcia’s luggage before putting it in a transparent plastic bag included a MacBook, two Apple watches, an iPad, jewelry and designer clothes.
Garcia, who did not know her suitcase had been stolen at the time, said Spirit Airlines employees later told her they “sent your luggage to your house.” “So I give my address to Spirit,” she added.
But through her Apple watch the next day, Garcia established that was not the case as the device was pinging from a home 15 minutes from the airport. She explained she decided to go to the house in question because “I said how can Spirit deliver my suitcase there.”
“Yes, because I needed my computer. I have test that day,” she added. Garcia ultimately called 911 after arriving at the home and coming across multiple suitcases. “The first thing the police told me was like, ‘What are you doing here? This is so dangerous for you to be here,’” Garcia said.
Bazile was ultimately linked to the home after a Broward Sheriff’s Office detective checked the address in an internal airport database. It was also established Bazile was on duty on the day of the theft, but he had ultimately discarded the items before authorities confronted him, Local 10 News reported.
Spirit Airlines in a statement said they had subsequently “issued a reimbursement check” to Garcia “as a courtesy, even though we are not currently aware of any evidence that any Spirit employee was involved.”
“We take any allegation of this nature seriously, and we are investigating,” the statement said.
But Garcia said she feels Bazile is a member of a crime syndicate. “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.”
Bazile was arrested and charged with grand theft.
