American Airlines passenger finds jacket stolen from luggage for sale online

Woman claims her coat was advertised on Facebook marketplace

(Getty Images)

Forget Wagatha Christie: there’s another super sleuth in town.

A woman from Oklahoma used some impressive detective work to track down her jacket online after it went missing from her luggage during an American Airlines flight.

Kinley Rice flew out of Tulsa airport and only realised the Patagonia jacket, along with some Lululemon leggings, jeans, a jumper, toiletry bag and her luggage tag were gone once she reached her destination.

She was particularly concerned about the tag, telling local TV station KJRH she “felt violated”.

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

However, it wasn’t until Rice spotted a Patagonia jacket that looked very similar to her own for sale on Facebook Marketplace that she started to suspect who might have stolen her belongings.

Comparing the barcode on the coat’s tag, which was visible in the picture, to the one on her receipt, Rice confirmed it was in fact her coat for sale.

Digging deeper, she quickly discovered that the seller worked at Tulsa airport as a baggage handler.

She was employed by Piedmont Airlines, which is contracted by American Airlines to operate its baggage handling services.

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

Rice said she had filed a claim with American Airlines and had been promised $1,000 to cover the cost of her missing items.

She also filed a report with the Tulsa Police Department.

American Airlines said in a statement: “American is very concerned with these allegations. We are investigating this in coordination with Piedmont, and are fully cooperating with authorities.”