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Hundreds of complaints filed with TSA over lost items at Hartfield

Channel 2 Action News has obtained documents that show passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport report losing all kinds of valuables.

Channel 2’s Scott MacFarlane found those items total about $250,000 in value.

MacFarlane obtained a federal database that reveals 416 complaints filed with the Transportation Security Administration by Atlanta passengers between 2011 and 2012 claiming valuables were lost or damaged in their luggage.

One passenger claimed $11,000 in fine jewelry was lost. Another reported losing $10,000 worth. One said thousands of dollars in clothes and shoes went missing.

MacFarlane found complaints about PC tablets, auto parts and $780 sunglasses missing from Atlanta travelers.

In other cities, travelers have faced another problem.

“We’ve run into problems at checkpoints where people are actually lifting items from bags. Recently, we’ve seen TSA people caught at home with the items they stole from people at the airport,” travel industry expert Charlie Leocha told MacFarlane.

An iPad recently turned up in the Florida home of a TSA officer.

Charlotte TSA officer Reggie Edwards is accused of stealing cash from a suitcase.

Agent Karla Morgan has been accused of snatching cash too.

MacFarlane found no recent record of Atlanta officers stealing but spotted some interesting trends in the database.

Twenty passengers reported losing digital cameras from their bags. Dozens and dozens claimed losing jewelry and iPads as well.

But the TSA isn’t reimbursing many of them. In fact, it reimbursed zero passengers who reported lost cameras

Passengers reported $300,000 in property lost or damaged in Atlanta. TSA cut about $35,000 in reimbursement checks.

The agency has an online claims process and MacFarlane was told it has investigators on staff to review receipts, talk to witnesses and review the claims. But the numbers indicate if your stuff gets lost in Atlanta, it’s hard to prove your case.