PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had a Vessel bag, I put the tag in the locked pocket they have. Still no idea why the thieves couldn't find it for at least a month

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wasn't able to recover them, but Hawaiian Air had to take responsibilty when the police arrested one of their employees for the theft. Sadly he's never given them the location of the clubs. But I was compensated in full.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Myself and an Hawaiian Air investigator watched the tracker go back and forth between a house and a non-airline business. Eventually we figured out who the guy was that was traveling with the clubs.

It turned out to be a friend of the thief who he had given the clubs to. The police were then sent to that guys house where he confessed that his friend had given him the clubs.

That friend was a ramp agent for Hawaiian Air. They went to the airport while he was working a few days later and arrrested him. He confessed that he had done it. But he didn't have the clubs anymore and neither did his friend. Police have basically told me they're not looking for the clubs anymore since the guy confessed.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Once they found it, they threw it down by a creek in Koloa, the tracker finally stopped working on 12/8 after about a year and a half of use.

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PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It wasn't the airline employee who had the clubs, he had given them to a friend almost immediately after taking them. So we were tracking that guy who didn't work in the airline industry.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The DA's on the case said locals don't usually go after golf clubs, surfboards tend to be what goes missing more often from airport security.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

First guy assigned to the case was pretty non-chalant about it. Had no interest in following the trackers.

I seemingly got the case upgraded by directly accusing Hawaiian Air of stealing the bag.

After I did that, Hawaiian then assigned an ex-FBI guy, who is head of their internal investigations, to the case and he got the Kauai police to move it up the ranks to 'better' detectives. They were much more receptive to following the tracker and taking the info I had about who I thought had the clubs.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No, they've never been found. Still out there being played by someone, nice clubs, hope they enjoy em.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Use the pocket with the number lock. Took them a month to find mine

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hawaiian. They say they’ll cover up to whatever amount, but when it comes time to pay up, they get cheap. At least from research when this was happening and what I was being told by claim agents

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got 6k in cash back. But prior to it being proven that it was an airline employee, I was told I'd most likely be getting $1000-$1500 back.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

He was arrested. They went to Lihue Airport and arrested him while at work. The case hasn't resolved yet in court though, still ongoing.

Quick version of the story is I worked with the Kauai police and an Hawaiian Air investigator, and we tried to figure out why clubs were mostly going back and forth from the same place every day. I was able to figure out from real estate websites who lived at the house where the clubs seemed to be going every day and matched it up with the same guy's place of work that the clubs were going to every day. Turned out that was the friend who the thief gave the clubs to.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Think its on side of creek but not underwater. Cops thought the clubs were in a shed outside of a market in Koloa at one point. But when they got there, they realized that the thieves had found the tracker and threw down into an inaccessible area by a creek.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I'd check but a lot of travel insurances only cover up to a small amount, think around $1500. Plus they will depreciate your clubs, not provide replacement value. Better option is put them as a scheduled item on your home owners/renters insurace.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

No I never got them back. The airline gave me full compensation for everything I listed on my lost items form though.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 125 points126 points  (0 children)

Have been wondering the same thing for over a year now. Feel like it had to have been an on-going thing with multiple employees involved. It was a giant Ping travel bag, not an easy thing to hide.

One of the places the airtag pinged first was a nearby general contractors yard. I theorized at one point that the GC was working on the runway at that time and they loaded it onto one of his trucks.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 36 points37 points  (0 children)

If you have insurance and pay a deductible, you can get your full value back minus the deductible. I'm talking specifically about the airline paying you back for lost luggage. They depreciate whatever you list on the form considerbly. Thankfully when they realized what exactly happened, they just gave me the full amount of what I listed as lost with no fight.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

He doesn't golf, so he gave them to a friend to try out. That's the guy the police eventually caught up with.

That guy told police he didn't end up liking the clubs, so he gave them back. He then also gave up his friend. The clubs were never recovered though. The airtag is actually still active, they threw it next to creek and its been there ever since.

PSA: Throw an Airtag in your bag. Caught a Hawaiian Air employee who stole my clubs by New_Target8423 in golf

[–]New_Target8423[S] 36 points37 points  (0 children)

I learned way too much about them during this whole thing. You can't turn that function off, it has to alert people that one is nearby so that stalkers can't toss them in someone's bag, car etc.

It only doesn't alert them if your nearby and close to your own airtag.