Marilyn Hartman is quickly becoming a celebrity at airports beyond the west coast, it seems.
I first wrote about Marilyn Hartman last March, when she was arrested at SFO after trying to sneak through security several times without a ticket.
Then in August she successfully managed to sneak on a plane from San Jose to Los Angeles. Then she got arrested, escaped, and did the same thing again. And again.
We haven’t heard much about her lately, at least until now. This time she has changed up venues a bit, as she got arrested in Florida at a hotel.
Via CNN:
Hartman’s latest travelog begins in Minnesota, according to Bill Leeper at the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.
She told deputies she traveled to Jacksonville on Sunday without a ticket. Authorities are investigating whether she stowed away or not. She did not give an airline name.
Once in Jacksonville, she hopped a hotel transport to the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort, about a 30-mile drive from the airport, where she checked into another person’s room under her real name and paid with her own credit card.
Hartman bolted when the person who had booked the room showed up. She was found Monday, staying in another room at the resort that was being renovated.
Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort
I’m still curious how she actually got to Minnesota, and also how she flew from Minnesota to Florida, which is information that hasn’t yet been released.
This is all a terribly sad but also terribly fascinating story. She’s apparently homeless and feels safest at airports. They tried to check her into a mental health facility, but she refused to follow orders and left.
And the worst part is how smart she clearly is. It’s one thing if she were always caught at the checkpoint, but she’s consistently making it through the security checkpoint, and even onto planes and into hotels. So while it’s clearly not her intent to harm anyone, it’s also clear that her behavior won’t stop without some intervention.
I have no clue what the solution is, but overall I can’t help but feel bad for her…
What do you think? What’s the solution for dealing with Marilyn Hartman?
She is misbehaving (like a little kid) and also she is mentally ill. Let's not fool ourselves here. She is making fools of all us - airlines, authorities, innocent passengers, everybody. What if she decides to carry strange substances with her? What if others decide to do what she is doing? I think she should not be allowed into any airport - anywhere - for life. I have no sympathy for her whatsoever. Of course...
She is misbehaving (like a little kid) and also she is mentally ill. Let's not fool ourselves here. She is making fools of all us - airlines, authorities, innocent passengers, everybody. What if she decides to carry strange substances with her? What if others decide to do what she is doing? I think she should not be allowed into any airport - anywhere - for life. I have no sympathy for her whatsoever. Of course we can learn from her but let's not let her carry on in constantly making fools of us. I also think she should be confined to a mental institution where the proper authorities can examine her and figure out ways to prevent such terrible behavior. If something terribel happens because of her awful behavior then we will all say - "Why didn't we do something in the first place to prevent this?"
I think a GoPro Camera should be attached to her so we can see how she does it. This whole escapade is very fascinating = HomeLand Security should hire her.
"Her behavior is criminal and compromises security" I agree, it is criminal, but actually her doing what she did will help find loopholes that apparently exist in the current airport security. They can learn from this and improve security in the future. Not that she should keep doing it, but since she has done this more than once, they should find out all they can about how she did it and fix the vulnerability.
I am for treating the mentally ill as well. But she obviously isn't mentally ill enough to be detained against her will. So I suspect we will be reading about her escapades for a good few years until she goes off the deep end.
I believe that the mentally ill should be treated and not criminalized, but in this case I don't have a soft spot at all. Her behavior is criminal and compromises security - hers and others'. She's knowingly, repeatedly breaking the law and is cognizant enough to know that what she's doing is wrong. I think this woman needs to be detained. I sure wouldn't get away with this behavior for so long.
All over the news here in JAX. I'm thinking she hopped the DL MSP-JAX flight
I honestly don't know. I hope she gets (and accepts) help soon.
Ben- I thought you were going to give her a free award ticket and hotel in Hawaii or somewhere?
What a great attitude towards the mentally ill, nick. Stay classy.
I like that she is doing this, and he'll as long as she doesn't cause damage I'd forgive and not arrest her. Actually, for the service she is providing (showing flaws in airport and hotel security), she should be paid by the TSA or DHS.
Wow, I have to say...that was really, really risky of her. I mean seriously, who tries to connect in MSP in the winter with so many other better alternatives? What's next, ORD?
I think the more pertinent point is how crappy TSA "security" really is, that it can CONSISTENTLY be circumvented. Sure we are "safer", but even after spending tens of BILLIONS of dollars (HSA, etc), an elderly woman can continually out-smart TSA time and time again. Granted, if it were a middle eastern gentleman/woman it may be a different story...but I believe the anecdote is apparent.
Welcome to JAX!!
Why not let her stow away on a flight to Syria.
Lucky, you two could pair up and travel together! Seems better for her, and she could write some blog posts!