Spirit Airlines Passenger Tracks Down Stolen Luggage, Airport Worker Charged  

OAN’s Abril Elfi
4:00 PM – Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Using her Apple Watch, a Spirit Airline passenger was able to locate her lost luggage, ultimately revealing that her belongings were in the home of an airport employee who had stolen it.

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According to reports, Paola Garcia had been patiently waiting for her bag, which contained several Apple products, including her MacBook laptop and two Apple watches, at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport’s carousel.

However, it never arrived. 

Garcia stated that she has always carried her luggage with her, but the airline forced her to check the suitcase before she departed. 

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

Garcia also said that she waited around for about two hours, hoping that her bag would arrive, until she eventually gave up hope. 

Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines employees told the passenger not to worry and that they would send the “lost” luggage to her home address once it was located. 

The next day, Garcia received a ping notification from one of the Apple watches in her suitcase. Although, rather than the Apple watch’s location being at the airport, it showed that it was around 15 minutes away, at a Fort Lauderdale home. 

According to an arrest affidavit, the home where the items were being tracked at was Junior Bazile’s residence. Bazile, 29, worked in the retail store Paradies Shops at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Garcia immediately knocked on the door of the home and then called 9-1-1.

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

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

It was discovered by the Broward Sheriff’s Office that Bazile worked a shift at the airport on the same day that Garcia’s belongings vanished.

However, the suitcase thief had already disposed of Garcia’s belongings when police arrived.

Following an investigation, authorities discovered images of Bazile searching through Garcia’s luggage in the back of the airport store where he typically worked. 

Soon after, Bazile was arrested and charged with grand theft. If found guilty, he could face five to 30 years in prison and fines that range from $5,000 to $10,000.

Prior to this most recent story, in June of 2023, surveillance footage from Miami International Airport in also showed two different TSA agents stealing at least $600 in cash and other items from the luggage of unwary travelers. The two alleged thieves at the baggage drop-off area can be seen in checkpoint video cooperating to steal money from wallets and purses that pass them on their way to the X-ray machine.