AirTag tracks airline worker accused of stealing $15k in goods from luggage, cops say

An Apple AirTag helped track down an airline employee accused of stealing from passengers, Florida police say.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office says it launched its investigation in July after a traveler reported that her luggage, containing around $1,600 worth of goods, never arrived at her destination from the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. The woman told police that an Apple AirTag in her bag was last detected in the Kathy Court area of Mary Esther, about 11 miles southwest of the airport.

A second incident of stolen goods from the airport occurred on Aug. 9, according to a sheriff’s officeFacebook post. A traveler reported more than $15,000 worth of jewelry and other items as missing from his luggage.

Using data from the AirTag, deputies checked out airport employees living in the Kathy Court area before they identified a 19-year-old employee. Officials say they found the goods reported missing on Aug. 9 at the employee’s home.

The employee admitted to deputies that he had also rummaged through the first victim’s luggage, removing her AirTag, the office’s post says. The woman’s belongings have not been recovered.

Deputies say they arrested the man on charges of grand theft.

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