I'm pretty sure that TSA was responsible for your luggage since they're the ones who provide screening. Have you filed a claim with them? They should be able to identify the screeners on duty at that time, and do an investigation.

I think you can file a claim through the TSA website that can be found via Google. I tried to file a claim a few years ago for a cruise check-in incident, but their screeners aren't TSA. At that time TSA was offering a few hundred dollars for missing items.

Good luck, and please be persistant in pursuing your claim.

I wouldn't discount it being rifled through anywhere along the route. Several news shows have show baggage handlers rifling through luggage at airports across the country. I never pack anything in my luggage that I can't live without. Since the screening process, anyone can go through your luggage to steal and of course TSA will be blamed. So, why give anyone the chance. Carry your valuables with you. Sorry for your losses.

dmeyers:

I am sorry for your missing items and cash, but I am not understanding why you put them into your checked luggage instead of your carry ons as is usually advised.

This does not give anyone the right to steal your personal items, but I hope this will get others to think before doing the same.

I do wish you all the luck in the world seeking redress. Please everyone, keep your valuables close.

I must agree with A Davis.

Stuff gets stolen stateside all the time. I'd never place any costly jewelry and cash in checked baggage. An expensive lesson - and one that diminishes our trust in others. The robbery could have taken place anywhere along the route.

That said, it should not have happened to you.

A lesson for travelers anywhere not just the USVI. Always keep valubles close to protect from theft and/or loss of luggage. While this is not a license for theft or inept baggage handling, attentiveness is a must when traveling. I would also not be quick to point fingers at a particular airport staff for your loss as during the trip your luggage was handled by and available to many employees of different employers such as employees of three different airports, TSA and American Airlines. Many had the oppurtunity to peek inside or even scan your luggage while it passed through or waited for your arrival.

What I do not understand is that you make the statement;
"It is public knowledge that Tourist are being robbed at baggage check in of their valuables "
but still you packed cash and valubles into checked luggage.

My suitcases don't lock, therefore I don't check anything that is valuable. I will also be packing a lot less next month when we stay on STX. Each bag we check is $30 bucks!! That's another thread in the making. haha

I'm sorry you were robbed..I hope TSA finds the person/persons responsible. To think these people are responsible for flying us safely to our destinations. SCARY

Jen

22 DAYS UNTIL I ARRIVE IN PARADISE!!!

We had our bags stolen going from PHL to FTL. We NEVER got the bags back. I know that I still miss some of my favorite t shirts, shorts, dresses and everything else you put in a bag when traveling.

After we lost them, and read all the small print about what we could get compensated for, I believe that they will not compensate you for jewelry. I still don't understand why you didn't put these things in your carry-on.

Good luck trying to get TSA to do an investigation, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon.

From purely a security standpoint, I'm surprised your luggage got onto the plane without you. I've been under the impression that there's a comparison of the luggage that's scanned for the flight with the boarding passes that get scanned for that flight, so that luggage without an owner can be removed. Obviously that didn't happen so I'm probably wrong. Perhaps that was before luggage was screened for explosives, etc.

I agree with Ron. It might have been anyone along the way. Your luggage might have spent alot of time on the luggage belt before it went to the Baggage Claims Office. Years ago, we checked in luggage several hours early in San Juan. Naively, we checked a small cosmetic case with some jewelry as well as our other luggage. We were assured that it would be on the same flight with us. It wasn't. It actually went out on the very next flight instead (we couldn't get seats on that flight). When we got in, we found our stuff, less the cosmetic case, off in a dark corner of the Baggage Claims area. I have not doubt someone noticed that our bags were just sitting there, so simply helped themselves.

I know...shame on us for packing jewelry and letting it out of our possession. We learned the hard way and travel a lot smarter now, but the airlines/TSA have an obligation to handle your stuff in a secure way. They probably looked at our situation as just another lost bag, but yours is a clear case of theft. Definitely push them to investigate this. It's a safe bet that whoever did it to you is doing it to others, so every complaint may help them track down the thief.

Hope you're able to recover enough to replace what was lost.

WW

Dorcas, your bag was in the NEWARK airport baggage claim for hours before you picked it up???? Hope you filed a claim there, too. From what I've heard, NWK isn't known for its security.

Dorcas,

I am sorry to hear you had valuables stolen from your checked baggage. As Ronnie said, there is no way to know where along the way the theft occurred. Luggage is more commonly rifled by baggage handlers than baggage screeners, though bags are generally rifled less now than they were before bags were routinely screened. I am a member of the public and I have not found, "...It is public knowledge that Tourist are being robbed at baggage check in of their valuables..." There are certainly incidents worldwide of bags missing items upon arrival, but the vast majority of bags that travel around the world by air arrive with their contents intact. Furthermore, if you read the fine print when you purchase an airline ticket, valuables, explicitly including cash and jewelry, are required to be carried on, and prohibited from checked luggage, and these explicit requirements have been in place for decades. Unfortunately you did not follow the airline regulations you agreed to when purchasing your ticket, and no one is obligated to compensate you for your error.

Missing valuables from suitcases is not a new phenomenon. It's why we used to put those little locks on our suitcases. (Although they all had the same key but it made us feel safer.) I just figured it was common knowledge to never put anything of value in your suitcase, just in case.

That being said, I would talk to the airline and the airport. Hopefully they will do something to make up for your inconvenience, but I wouldn't expect full replacement cost.

That being said, I would talk to the airline and the airport. Hopefully they will do something to make up for your inconvenience, but I wouldn't expect full replacement cost.

While you can speak with the the airline, airport and TSA, I doubt that compensation is in order. Loss of cash is hard to prove and although you might be able to show reciepts for the lost jewelry, it is only your word that they were in the bag that was checked. I know that this may sound harsh to someone who just lost about $800 but the airline got your luggage to it's final destination. Perhaps this has happened somewhere along this route before and your complaint will aid in an ongoing investigation. Good luck I truly hope that your missing items can be found and returned and the person responsible is caught.

I don't ever put anything more valuable than my Birkenstocks (although those are worth more than my jewelry lol), so I've never read the fine print about luggage and what they'll reimburse for. I was just thinking maybe somehow it might be worth it to pursue this and trying to be nice, but if it were my missing jewelry and cash, I suspect that I would just blame myself and move on. But maybe there are cameras near the baggage claim -- surely that would catch anyone rifling through your unattended bags. Can't hurt to ask, although I'm not sure anything would come of it.

I was just thinking -- I know my trip insurance gives me money if my whole bag is missing. Maybe it covers theft out of your bag?

Just trying to be helpful and positive, because sometimes I feel the urge to do that, even though I'm not sure that there's anything helpful or positive to come out of this.

Although I'm pretty sure that no matter which way you slice it, it is probably not the fault of the STT airport or the Virgin Islands authorities.