"You Can't Make This Stuff Up"

David made that statement on Facebook earlier this week. He was flying home from a convention in Las Vegas, and he decided to check his suitcase because Delta had insisted that everyone gate check their bags on the flight out. David was just trying to avoid that hassle on the return flight.

He goes on to say:

"Delta lost my luggage on Saturday. No big deal - buy new stuff and file receipts with Delta to get reimbursed for half of it if you're lucky. That's life. 

But 11alive news called me a few minutes ago saying they found my suitcase, along with a bunch of other people's suitcases, littered in a field near the airport. Apparently Atlanta police have just busted some luggage theft ring - the thieves have been grabbing bags as they come off the baggage carousel, and then dumping them in fields. 11alive volunteered to deliver my suitcase to me at home, but I bet it's all trashed."

Channel 11 arrived at his apartment with a film crew and a van full of suitcases. They had David identify his bag, search it, and then give a statement. David thought that was the end of it. But on Monday evening they began airing a special investigative report about the luggage thefts. It turns out that Delta tells everyone that their bag is "missing" and it will probably turn up eventually, just like they told David. 

On Monday, one of their viewers saw this luggage mess in the field and called the police. Three hours later the police still hadn't shown up, so she called channel 11 to report the police ineptitude. They filmed the field littered with clothes and suitcases, (they panned across David's open suitcase and white and blue dress shirts several times), and checked the luggage tags, and realized what was happening. That's when David heard from them.  

Last night, Wednesday evening, David's segment was on the news. We saw him look in the van, identify his suitcase, and look through his clothes briefly. Then he made a statement about Delta having no security at the south terminal carousels.

I quote the online news:

"David Noren, of Dunwoody, who flew in on a flight from Vegas on Saturday Oct. 27, wanted us to deliver his missing bag.

"See your bag there?" we asked when we showed up.

"Yup," he said, as he reached into the van and grabbed it. "So, I got a call from Delta. They actually didn't say anything about it being stolen or lost. They just said, 'We apologize'."

We turned over all of the other bags to Atlanta Police, at the airport"

David is bright enough to not pack valuables or electronics in his suitcase, so nothing was missing. But his two most expensive pieces of clothing were ruined: his suit pants were ripped and his leather shoes were gouged with holes. 

Hopefully Delta is feeling the effects of their bad press. Today they told David that they will replace everything at replacement cost, plus give him skymiles and travel vouchers. If only it was for international first class...

All photos taken from 11alive.com news clip.