Oregon Public Broadcasting

In February, two Portland International Airport baggage handlers were arrested and accused of  stealing hundreds of items from checked baggage.

Now airport police are asking theft victims to contact them.

“We’ve identified 11 individuals who we think are the owners of some of the items we’ve recovered,” says Steve Johnson, a Port of Portland spokesman.  “We’re in the process now of contacting those individuals.”

The Port operates the airport and airport police department.  

Johnson says airport police started getting reports of items stolen from checked baggage early this year, but prior to that, there wasn’t a suspicious theft report pattern.

“Our theft reports did not indicate that there was an issue here.  We began investigating based on information that came forward early this year,” says Johnson.  “We began our investigation, which led to arrests in February.”

Two Northwest Airlines baggage handlers, Jose Romera and Bridgette Bunnell, were arrested after Bunnell, a baggage supervisor, reported the thefts.

Investigators say Bunnell was in on the thefts, but decided to report them because she was no longer getting what she believed was a fair share of the stolen items.  

The Port’s Steve Johnson says over the years, airport police have investigated occasional thefts.  But he says this one was different.

“It was an isolated incident, it was a large theft ring,” says Johnson.  “This was really on the larger scale of things that we’ve seen from time to time over the years.”

Due to the security concerns, Johnson can’t comment directly on any changes made at the airport to prevent similar thefts in the future.

“We are always on the lookout for anytime the crime issues arise.  And when we see that happening, we focus appropriate law enforcement resources to address that situation,” says Johnson.

His advice to airport passengers?

“We’ve always encouraged travelers to keep any high value items with them, on their person or in their carry-on bag when they travel,” says Johnson.

Travelers who believe they may have had items stolen from baggage should contact the Port Police at 503.460.4747