A cautionary tale of lost passport

My sister and her boyfriend are in Sicily right now, driving a car and visiting beaches.

Forwarding this to her.

She knows Italian bureaucracy is tough since she’s been trying to acquire original documents to prove lineage for Italian citizenship, but they’re moving around a lot. Young and carefree!

It's disgusting--and all that hassle for some dirty laundry!
Sad also that the USG does not have a better system for assisting travelers.

A lesson for all. To never leave valuables unattended, including in the locked trunk of a car. And a passport is extremely 'valuable' like the author of that article learned.

I even often leave my passport in the hotel safe. I know the law in most countries requires you to have it with you at all times, but in some circumstances I'll take the risk. No US citizen will end up in jail for failing to produce a passport to a police officer in Europe, in the unlikely event you are requested to do so. On the other hand theft (and pickpockets) where the victims are tourists is rampant everywhere..

I agree with Roberto, I do not keep my passport on my person unless I am changing locations because I am far more likely to have it stolen or lose it than I am with it safely at the hotel apartment. I also am an American living in Germany for nearly 12 years and the amount of times I've been asked to produce my passport when I'm not checking into a hotel or boarding a plane is 0.

I keep my passport on my person even while sleeping and showering in a sealed sandwich bag. This reminds me of the legendary Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, whose greatest invention is with us today. Montagu opened what is believed to be the first sandwich shop on Castle Hill Road in Dover, which we visited. He was also a great admiral and postmaster, a true Renaissance man! Thanks to Montagu, we can now eat with our hands!

The tale here is not to use a car trunk as a secure vault.

The embassy, or really the consulate, did what they are supposed to do, issue an emergency passport on Monday morning. No, they don’t have 24-hour service. Yes, they have emergency funds (having been a recipient moving back to the US with a two year old during the 1981 air controllers strike). No, it’s not posted on a wall or too many people would be claiming they were broke. No, you can’t beg your way onto a plane.

So in a nutshell: I put my valuables in a car trunk. They were stolen. On Monday, I got an emergency passport. I flew home.

Stolen luggage, computers, bags etc. from locked cars is a very common concern throughout most of Europe's touristy areas and even less touristy city centers. I make a habit to never open the car trunk to put something in it (or remove something) after I have parked. Do what you need to do before you land in a spot. Assume that you are being watched and that when you access things in the car, you are almost guaranteeing that you will have problems.
My passport is never in a bag. Ever. It is in my pocket, always. At least if I am travelling. If there is a hotel safe, or a good place to leave it during the day, I will not carry it but if there are not good options, I would rather have it where I can put my hand on it. I keep a copy of the inside pages in my bag. I have a scan/jpg of it on my phone.
Working inside Foxconn and Apple, Samsung factories, they always demand that you leave your passport (and pc, and phone) with their security folks before you enter. I always played dumb (not much of an effort) and handed them my driver's license instead. It worked nearly 99% of the time. If they demanded the PP I always told them it was "at my hotel". Since they needed my services inside, when push came to shove, I got in.

not very secure security checks then

Whenever I read threads about carrying or not carrying your passport, the movie There Will Be Blood always comes to mind should someone attempt to separate me from my passport.

“I make a habit to never open the car trunk to put something in it (or remove something) after I have parked. Do what you need to do before you land in a spot. Assume that you are being watched and that when you access things in the car, you are almost guaranteeing that you will have problems.”

This. Whether you are at home or traveling assume there is someone looking for the opportunity to separate you from your belongings.

I lost my passport on my very first trip to Europe back in the mid-90's. It was in my neck pouch, which fell off when I was walking through London (the clasp was probably loose). I was wearing a raincoat (it was early October) and didn't notice it was gone until I stopped to get some money out of it. It had everything in it - passport, travelers checks, both of my credit cards and money (that's how I learned to always separate cards and money).

I retraced my steps but did not find it, so I reported it to the police, then went to the US embassy, which was unfortunately closed for lunch. I burst into tears but tried to recover and made my way back to the B&B to get the photocopy of my passport (I was savvy enough to have that) and my blank check (I had read in a guidebook that you should always bring a blank check with you). Luckily my plane tickets were at my B&B.

I took the passport copy and blank check to the AMEX office in London (one of my missing cards was an AMEX) and they cashed a check for me for $300. I then went back to the embassy, they told me to go to a nearby shop to get a passport photo taken, then come back to get my temporary passport. By 4 pm, I had a new passport, good for 3 months, and money, and was starving so I went to a nearby restaurant to eat and chug down a half carafe of wine.

Ten days after I got home, I received a package from the B&B owner containing my pouch with everything - including the 50+ pounds I had in there. Evidently a student had found it and turned it in. I got her name and address and sent her all the cash - I couldn't use it and hoped that she could. And that is why I NEVER carry a neck pouch anymore. :)

I would never leave my passport in a car, never have done such a thing and certainly not in the trunk. The hotel safe is not an option either. Some of the small Pensionen where I stay in Germany don't offer a safe, no matter , since I don't use it anyway.

When out and about , it's best to keep that passport on me, whether it's on a day trip by train or just walking around in the town.

On the subject of the hotel safe ---- Within the past six month checked into a hotel and went to the room safe. There was neatly typed card in bold letters attached to the safe door telling me to leave the safe unlock when checking out. And in slightly smaller type was instructions on how to unlock the safe if I found the safe locked. Pretty simple, and I made a note to see if it will work on future safes.

This is another reason I lift weights. If someone tries to separate me from anything I can defend myself. Every important item is in my front pockets or fanny pack in the front, and my hands are always in my pockets or hovering over them, like Wyatt Earp just in case. Physical intimidation as a defense measure is acceptable.