A woman has been charged with felony theft charge and a misdemeanour trespass charge after stowing away on a commercial flight from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, to Heathrow International in the UK.
Marilyn Hartman, 66, infamous for stowing away on commercial aircraft, managed to elude Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents at O’Hare International Airport, making her way to the International Terminal where she remained overnight. The following day, Hartman snuck on board a British Airways flight that was headed to Heathrow.
Upon landing in London, Hartman was detained after presenting her documentation to a Customs agent. Following brief questioning by airport authorities, the infamous ‘serial stowaway’ was flown back to O’Hare International, where she was entered into the custody of the Chicago Police Department.
A statement released by TSA revealed that an investigation into how Hartman was able to bypass airport security is currently underway.
“This matter is subject to an ongoing investigation and TSA is working closely with our law enforcement and airline partners in that effort,” TSA announced in the statement.
“During the initial investigation, it was determined that the passenger was screened at the security checkpoint before boarding a flight. Upon learning of the incident TSA, and its aviation partners took immediate action to review security practices throughout the airport.
The incident is the latest in Hartman’s long history of illegally bypassing airport security and boarding commercial flights. She was previously charged and sentenced in two separate incidents back in 2016 and 2015 and holds three misdemeanour convictions for similar crimes in the state of California.
Additionally, as part of her probation from prior sentencing, Hartman was institutionalised at a mental health facility in Chicago. She violated the terms of her probation when she left the facility and headed to O’Hare International.
