Woman says her husband left his wallet in a Southwest seat pocket, and when they got it back 10 minutes later, all $1,200 in cash was gone

A woman says $1,200 in cash went missing from her husband’s wallet after he left it in a seat pocket on a Southwest Airlines flight. The couple said they got the wallet back just 10 minutes later, but all of the cash inside was gone.

Alex Danielle Ellswo shared the story in a TikTok slideshow, as reported by BroBible. The first photo showed her and her husband with a text overlay that read, “To the [Southwest Airlines] employee who found my husband’s wallet and stole $1,200… I hope you know you stole from us…” The second photo showed the couple’s children, which she used to point out that the alleged theft affected their whole family.

In her caption, Ellswo said the couple was told the flight crew collects forgotten items and hands them off to whoever takes them to baggage services. She said an employee came back holding a bag, a helmet, and a few other items, including her husband’s wallet. She said they were told they could file a complaint, but there wasn’t much more the airline could do, and she ended the caption by writing, “I hope Karma comes back around in a big way.”

She doesn’t think a flight attendant took the money

Ellswo said in the comments that she “definitely didn’t think it was a FA” and that she believed it was the cleaning crew. She argued that a deboarding passenger wouldn’t have had enough time to spot the wallet, step into the aisle, unzip it, take the cash, and then move to a different row to drop it off.

Viewers had mixed reactions. One commenter suggested, “Mind you, a stranger [could’ve] found it, took the cash and then gave it to them,” while another wrote, “I am sick for you!!! Ugh I’m so sorry.”

Southwest Airlines says it is not liable for unchecked items left on the plane, though passengers can file a lost item report. The airline asks passengers who realize they left an important item onboard to notify a customer service agent before leaving the airport so it can try to retrieve it. Filing a report doesn’t guarantee an item will be returned, which is why travelers are often advised not to keep valuables in seat-back pockets.

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify Southwest Airlines’ side of the story, as this account originates solely from Ellswo’s TikTok post.