Amber Ward’s jaw dropped when she realized one of her shoes was missing from her tray.
I ’ll admit the intellection has crossed my judgment before . " What if someone steals my belongings during theTSA certificate screening process ? " I ’ve wonder multiple times at theairport . It does n’t sound so marvellous , after all . A sneaky thief could quickly grab my phone from my tray while I ’m getting shield by security measures . Or perchance they would n’t go for my telephone set and would grab something smaller , like my wireless headphones or watch .
One thing I ’ve never worried about , though , is that aerodrome security thieves would slip only one of my shoes . And to be fair , that still has n’t fall out to me . But Amber Ward has a different narration .
Around 3 post-mortem on May 26 , Ward ’s jaw dropped to the base as she light upon that someone in her law of proximity at the security checkpoint of Charlotte Douglas International Airport had rent such a tender interest in her shoes that they arbitrarily decide to slip one of them during the screening process . Why the other was left behind remains a mystery , though Ward trust someone took her skid by mistake .
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" No it is not stuck in the machine , " reads the caption to Ward ’s viral TikTok describing the surreal position . " Security searched for 20 minutes and it was not there . "
They looked everywhere . Ward tell aTSAagent that her unexpended shoe was missing , and the agent promptly break inside the political machine . When they could n’t find it , Ward insist . " I asked if she could expect again because I really needed it … obviously , " Ward tell Thrillist . " She chink a second time and a third , also letting other agents know to look out for it . " But to no avail . It ’s almost as if the shoe had vanish into the diethyl ether .
Ward had no intention of giving up . She asked if she could ply her contact information to TSA so somebody would reach out to her if the skid as if by magic reappeared . The TSA agent assisting Ward gesture her off to her supervisor , who was reportedly " dumbfounded " to try the detail of these security department shenanigan .
But the supervisor could n’t be of much assistance either . " The only help she provided was a phone number for lose and found , written down on a paper towel , " Ward explained . " I asked again if there was someone I could go forth my selective information with , [ if I could ] register a call , and she said ' no , ' [ and ] that I would just have to deal with lost and regain . "
What Ward did n’t hump , though , is that TSA has certificate camera that serve a beneficial aim in these situation . “If someone consider that something is missing from a checkpoint bin , they can ask to talk with a Transportation Security Administration officeholder , " Lisa Farbstein , TSA spokesperson , told Thrillist . " We have television camera all over the checkpoints and the executive program can arrest the picture to confirm whether the traveler localize the point in the bin and whether someone else may have polish off it . If someone other than the owner of the item absent it , the local police force are notified for appropriate follow - up . "
To Ward , this option was never acquaint , and had she known about it , she would ’ve unquestionably asked TSA about it . To abridge TSA some slack , though , security checkpoint theft is n’t a daily occurrence ( Farbstein said it is " not frequent " ) , and process to tackle the issue are n’t often rehearsed .
When Thrillist first verbalise to Ward , she was on her way back to Charlotte and say that once she put down , her first stop would be the lose and obtain to seek out her missing brake shoe . Ward even said she ’d request to check the cameras now that she knew that was an option . She then said she ’d be in touching and would let Thrillist cognize if she found her shoe .
Unfortunately , there were no good update . " Part two of Shoegate is not a happy ending , " Ward told Thrillist . " TSA was fabulously unhelpful and would not allow the tape to me tonight , and told me that encounter my skid had a ' slim to none chance . ' " However , TSA might backpedale its determination . According to Ward , more than one million masses on TikTok are asking for part two of her saga , and as we have seen before , social media can be moderately persuasive with its viral stunt .
As such , Ward remains brusque one brake shoe . But I know what you ’re all really wondering . Did Ward get on her plane wearing only one shoe ? The answer is no .
" I was travel with all my belongings in a carry - on , so gratefully , I had a few other couplet of shoes with me , " she excuse . " I opt a yoke of boots to put on , break down to the sofa , experience a snack and a Bloody Mary ! "
