Bag left in taxi

[totallyobsessed]

So, we got off the Magic yesterday in Miami. My son left his small backpack in the taxi when we arrived at the airport. It was full of his valuables (all electronics), but had no identification other than an iphone with a dead battery. We have tried to track down the taxi, but there are sooooo many companies that it was like finding a needle in a haystack. We talked to security at the airport and they tried everything they could think of to help us with no luck. It doesn't appear that the cruise port has a lost and found and items are collected by the various cruise companies. Has anyone ever had something like this happen and could offer some advice of who to contact or where to look? My poor kiddo feels awful (some of the items belonged to his siblings) and is taking this really hard.

 

[lklgoodman]

Since there was no identification in the bag there is no way for anyone who finds it to get it back to you. You would need to call/email every taxi company with a description of the bag and contents to see if anyone turned it in to them. Otherwise see if you can file a claim with insurance(don't know if they'd reimburse you or not). Hugs to your son, hope it works out for you.

 

[Naeher]

Have you logged in to all devices via iCloud / find my phone etc? It will let you send a message to each device so if they’re connected to WiFi or data the person who has the bag will get a message

 

[dclpluto]

Did the iPhone have a security lock on it? If it did you might be out of luck. If your son didn’t have a security lock on it someone could text the people that your sons text like you and tell them they have it and how to send it to you. If they are honest. Good luck in finding it.
Remember everyone make sure your phones is charged when leaving a cruise. Not for this reason but if you get separated at the airport.
Just start calling and emailing the taxi companies in Miami.

 

[Naeher]

Even if it had security they could take the sim card out to text someone or listen to voicemails.
OP, call his phone and leave a voicemail so if they do turn the phone / SIM on they can have your details that way too.

 

[KatieKepic]

How did you pay for the taxi? If you paid by credit card, you should be able to get hte name of the taxi company that way.

 

[totallyobsessed]

Thank you for all the replies. I thought possibly insurance might reimburse, but we didn't file a police report (didn't realize we needed to until we were already home). He does have a security code on it and it's also in airplane mode. I've been trying the find my iphone app regularly. I did set a message to call my number if found. We paid by credit card, but only came up with an address that shows no results when I google. My google skills may be lacking, but my credit card shows: SQ MIAMI AIRPORT SHUTTLE 876733 MacArthur Cause, Miami Beach, FL 33139

 

[Ladybugx87]

Since you have the vendor name - three ideas:
1) there is usually a phone number attached to the charge - your credit card online statement might have this
2) try the Miami trip advisor forum. Maybe someone there can help find this specific company.
3) look for social media groups in the local area and see if anyone can help.

 

[FigmentSpark]

You could try calling your cc company to see if there's any other information they can give you that might help. Not sure if there is, but at least try.

 

[Adventurelawyer]

You can still file a police report. Tell dispatch you need to make the report by phone. These are done all the time.

 

[starry_solo]

Miami Airport? File an online report with the Miami-Dade Police Department here:
https://www.miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1507650810399310
Well, it brings you here:
http://www.miamidade.gov/police/police-report.html
Did you fly out of MCO? If so, Orlando Police Department Police Report (online too):
https://www.orlando.gov/Public-Safety/OPD/Report-a-Crime/Report-a-Non-Violent-Crime
Both say that it can be filed for lost property.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

I am really sorry this happened. These types of things are never easy. It is a sinking feeling for sure.

It will not help you now but could help you in the future. I had several small metal dog tags made and attach one to all of our bags including one on my camera, camera bag, backpacks, etc. They read:

$$ CASH REWARD $$
If found, please call or text:
xxx-xxx-xxxx
xxx-xxx-xxxx

It is my hope that if someone finds our item, that they might be willing to contact us for some quick cash as a reward.

When traveling, it is just sooo easy to leave something behind because of the change in routine etc. Your son is probably not use to riding in a cab and was thinking about flying home. How many times do we read about items left on a ride or monorail? There is always a lot going on during travel and it can be distracting.

I hope you get your items back or they can be replaced.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We left our laptop in a cab from our hotel in Manhattan to Laguardia to on our way to Europe to begin our cruise a year ago. The computer was in a black bag and the seat of the cab was also black. Plus we were shuffling a lot of luggage and it was really easy to leave something behind. DH called the hotel and spoke to the bell captain, gave him a description of the driver and some background info learned from chatting with the driver. He was an independent driver so we couldn't just call a taxi company dispatcher. The bell captain figured out who the driver was, called him, and miraculously the bag was located. The driver said he was halfway back to the City by then, so he expected to be paid for driving back to the airport. It was only fair. We were so relieved to get the computer back that DH tipped the driver more than our original fare to the airport.

DH mentioned it to our travel agent and she suggested that next time we got into a cab we should take a picture of the taxi driver and/or his license plate, just in case.

As we returned a rental car from our latest vacation last month the rental agent noticed I was counting bags -- another way to double-check that we had all our belongings with us.

 

[Dug720]

We left our laptop in a cab from our hotel in Manhattan to Laguardia to on our way to Europe to begin our cruise a year ago. The computer was in a black bag and the seat of the cab was also black. Plus we were shuffling a lot of luggage and it was really easy to leave something behind. DH called the hotel and spoke to the bell captain, gave him a description of the driver and some background info learned from chatting with the driver. He was an independent driver so we couldn't just call a taxi company dispatcher. The bell captain figured out who the driver was, called him, and miraculously the bag was located. The driver said he was halfway back to the City by then, so he expected to be paid for driving back to the airport. It was only fair. We were so relieved to get the computer back that DH tipped the driver more than our original fare to the airport.

DH mentioned it to our travel agent and she suggested that next time we got into a cab we should take a picture of the taxi driver and/or his license plate, just in case.

As we returned a rental car from our latest vacation last month the rental agent noticed I was counting bags -- another way to double-check that we had all our belongings with us.

At least in NYC, cabs are supposed to display driver info towards the passenger - usually on the plexiglass divider or on the headrest. Very easy to take a picture of.

 

[totallyobsessed]

I want to take a minute to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who replied. Your advice has been very valuable. I've filed an online police report, which takes approximately 5 days to finalize for the insurance claim. In the meantime I will be posting on local pages to see if we can locate the company. My son is feeling so much better knowing that at the very least, we may be able to replace some of things. I think we (as a family) have learned some very valuable lessons from this!

 

[FigmentSpark]

Another tip for electronics that might be identifiable by serial number... before you leave, take a photo of the serial number. At least you can include it in the report, should something happen.