Fly out of town, lose purse/wallet, now what?

[Hampshire]

Just had my coworkers daughter call him from Chicago O’Hare. She had been there a couple hours when she discovered her purse was missing. No I.D., no cash, no credit cards. She thinks she left it on the plane but no one has found it yet.
My coworker thinks he’s going to end up having to drive the 14 hour round trip to go get her since there’s no way they will let her on a plane sans id.

I’d think at major airports people lose their purses and wallets all the time and the airlines/security has procedures in place to deal with situations like these. Otherwise people would be getting stranded all over the damn place.

So whats most likely to happen to her?

[EmAnJ]

Can he get a copy of her passport and fax it over?

Otherwise, I’m interested to know what might happen (and what does happen) as well.

[rowrrbazzle]

There’s a non-profit outfit called Traveler’s Aid. They have an office there. They may be able to help. From the O’Hare website http://www.ohare.com/CustomerServices/TravelersAid.shtm

The Travelers Aid Office at O’Hare is located in Terminal 2 across from the Children’s Museum and provides information, directions, and special assistance to both foreign and domestic travelers. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Information booths are also available at various locations.

To reach them by phone or for more information, please call 773-894-2427.

[panache45]

Your coworker’s daughter is lucky it happened in the U.S., and that she had money for a phone call. Here is my sad story from two years ago. (I did return to Spain a year later, and had a great trip.)

[PatriotGrrrl]

You can still take a train or (I think) a bus without ID, and you can pick up money from Western Union without one if you use the “secret question” method. However, the nearest Western Union location appears to be almost 10 miles from the airport.

[Darryl_Lict]

I’ve heard that it is possible to fly without an ID although obviously it is a hassle. People lose all their IDs and tickets all the time. I heard that you show up at the airport way before your flight (5 hours) you may be able to convince them that you are who you are. Hopefully you can print out a plane ticket online. While you are still at the airport, I’d explain to the airline what my situation is, and find out what their policy is.

Here’s a blurb on flying without ID. I suspect if you are a fair skinned well dressed non threatening person that you might be able to fly back.

I’ve never lost my ID nor ticket, so I have no real world experience. It’s worth a try in any case.

[MPB_in_Salt_Lake]

@Darryl_Lict

I’ve heard that it is possible to fly without an ID although obviously it is a hassle. People lose all their IDs and tickets all the time. I heard that you show up at the airport way before your flight (5 hours) you may be able to convince them that you are who you are. Hopefully you can print out a plane ticket online. While you are still at the airport, I’d explain to the airline what my situation is, and find out what their policy is.

Here’s a blurb on flying without ID. I suspect if you are a fair skinned well dressed non threatening person that you might be able to fly back.

I’ve never lost my ID nor ticket, so I have no real world experience. It’s worth a try in any case.

A couple of years back I was visiting Baltimore and lost my drivers licence in a taxi. When I realised what I had done, I called the airline (Delta) told them what had happened, and they told me to make a police report and bring it with me on the day of my flight. I gave it to the ticket agent, he printed me a ticket and I was on the plane and on my way home with no problems at all…