News

Actions

Notorious serial stowaway strikes again

Posted at 12:14 PM, Jan 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-22 14:14:34-05

CHICAGO - She's done it again.

And again.

And again.

This time, 66-year-old Marilyn Hartman of Grayslake made it all the way to London with no ticket and no passport.

She was charged Saturday with felony theft and misdemeanor criminal trespass to land and issued a $25,000 personal recognizance bond with mandatory electronic monitoring, according to WGN.

Last Sunday, in Terminal 3 at Chicago's O’Hare International Airport, prosecutors say she slipped by two Transportation Security Administration PreCheck officers. Her movements were caught on video.

Prosecutors say Hartman put her bag on the screening device, passed security and got in line for a flight to Connecticut. She tried to dart around another passenger to board the plane, but a flight agent stopped her and told her to sit down.

Instead, authorities say she made her way onto a shuttle bus to the International Terminal, even though fliers must show a plane ticket and a passport. They say Hartman spent the night in the terminal and walked right past two British Airways agents who were checking tickets.

"The defendant then hid in a small room in the side before quickly walking past a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent who was looking at passports of individuals," said Assistant Cook County State`s Attorney Maria McCarthy. "The defendant then boarded a (British Airways) flight, sat in an empty seat and flew to Heathrow Airport."

Hartman was stopped at Heathrow and sent back.

The so-called serial stowaway has been arrested several times across the country. She's had four misdemeanor convictions related to O'Hare since 2015.