WASHINGTON — The D.C. traveler who recently found her lost luggage using an Apple AirTag sounded the alarm again Monday after finding new evidence that she believes points to a possible theft operation.
Valerie Szybala is tweeting about more empty, abandoned luggage spotted behind the NE DC apartment building where she tracked down her suitcase in the possession of a courier on Jan. 2 after a United Airlines flight the week before. She said she suspects someone is stealing and she’s demanding that United Airlines help with the investigation.
Szybala posted new photos of allegedly empty, abandoned luggage she says she took near the dumpsters of an apartment complex on Rhode Island Avenue NE Monday morning.
“I went to check it out and there were two more empty bags out there,” Szybala said. “One had a tag that looked like someone's ID information but that's been taken out, it's empty. The bags, just like last time, are in good shape. It doesn't seem like there would be a reason for someone to throw them out on their own."
Szybala said she's open to hearing all explanations, but says the evidence isn't looking good.
"It looks like someone in that building is stealing bags, and given what happened to me, it just it doesn't look good," she said. "And it's so frustrating to not be given any sort of follow up from United or from the police who say they're still looking into it.”
Szybala admits to being on a mission seeking accountability after last week when the air tag stashed in her luggage led her to her own suitcase in the back of a courier’s vehicle. The bag was missing after a United flight five days before. The courier told Szybala the suitcase had been routed to wrong addresses twice.
Szybala said the information from her air tag made a mockery of the airline’s claims the bag was with a courier service, either en-route or in a secure storage facility. She said data from her AirTag proved that, in reality, it was pinging from restaurants, shopping malls and the NE D.C. apartment complex for days.
After Szybala racked up more than 6 million views on Twitter, United Airlines responded: “The service our baggage delivery vendor provided does not meet our standards and we are investigating what happened to lead to this service failure.”
Szybala says she’s contacted Metropolitan police with her photos and suspicion.
"In this case, it's a sort of righteous indignation," Szybala said. "It's so frustrating to be treated that way by a company, they get away with it all the time. And they clearly don't care even in a case where it gets that much attention. There's no information to indicate that they've done anything to change.”
A spokesman for MPD reports the agency has received information from Szybala.
"We're going to look into it," said Alaina Gertz, a spokesperson for MPD.
Gertz added that police were unable to find evidence that the abandoned luggage originally reported by Szybala was related to any theft "at that time."
As of Monday afternoon, United Airlines had not responded to WUSA9's requests for additional information or comments.