- A Florida airline worker is charged in connection to the theft of over $16,000 worth of luggage.
- The suspect was caught with the assistant of one victim's Apple AirTag, which she kept in her luggage.
- Investigators cross-referenced the employee database with the AirTag's last active location to find the suspect.
A Florida airline worker was arrested after an Apple AirTag helped authorities locate a traveler's missing luggage.
Giovanni De Luca, 19, an airline subcontractor at Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, is charged with two counts of grand theft, according to a statement by Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office on Thursday.
According to the statement, a traveler reported her suitcase, which contained more than $1,600 worth of items, had gone missing from her final destination in July.
The traveler told authorities that an Apple AirTag in her suitcase had last activated in Mary Esther, Florida, according to the statement.
Another traveler reported his luggage, which contained more than $15,000 worth of jewelry, missing, according to the statement.
Investigators from the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office used the airline database to cross reference employees who lived near the address where the AirTag was last activated and made "consensual contact" with De Luca at his home where they recovered the missing items.
De Luca admitted to rummaging through the July victim's suitcase and removing the Apple AirTag however her items have not been recovered, according to the statement.
"This arrest is an example of excellent teamwork by our Airport Security Unit, our Investigators, and the Airport to find the person responsible for these thefts and make sure he is held responsible," said Sheriff Eric Aden in the statement.