Ticketing Problem Led to Ill Woman’s Ordeal at Airport

A problem over payment of an airline ticket was the source of confusion that led a 70-year-old Panorama City woman to become disoriented and wander around Los Angeles International Airport for four days and three nights, Los Angeles police said Tuesday.

Irene Rodriguez was supposed to use a prepaid ticket, issued on a credit card, to board a flight last Wednesday to Lincoln, Neb., to join her family, said Detective Mel Arnold, citing information police have pieced together since her plight was discovered two days ago. But at check-in, Rodriguez “was not issued a ticket because of a problem with the credit card,” Arnold said.

Rodriguez thought the problem was temporary and checked into a hotel near LAX. She returned to the airport the next day but again could not get a ticket. Meanwhile, her luggage, which contained her daily medication for heart and diabetes problems, had been misplaced.

“She was becoming disoriented and sick because of the lack of medication,” Arnold said.

Rodriguez did not have enough money for a hotel room. By Friday, she had run out of money for food.

Rodriguez’s ordeal ended Sunday when volunteers at a Travelers Aid Society booth at the airport came to her aid and notified police. She was taken to Tarzana Regional Medical Center, where she remained Tuesday under treatment for various ailments and agitation. Authorities were planning to reunite her with her family upon her recovery.

Arnold said the problems occurred during Rodriguez’s long-planned move with her son, Robin Breadwell, 39, and daughter, Emily Breadwell, 47, to Dwight, Neb. Because of her poor health, her children decided to fly her to Nebraska rather than make her drive with them, Arnold said.

On July 5, they put her on a shuttle bus to LAX. The Breadwells then left for Nebraska in a car and a truck carrying the family’s belongings.

Arnold said her children told Rodriguez to check into an airport motel in Lincoln and wait for them to arrive.

Credit-Card Purchase

When the Breadwells arrived in Lincoln late Friday night, they could not find their mother and reported her missing to police there. Arnold said he did not know what was wrong with the credit-card purchase.

Susan Edelstein, director of the Travelers Aid office at LAX, said the society and the hospital were planning to collect donations to pay for Rodriguez’s travel expenses and to replace her lost clothing and luggage.

“We want to get her reunited with her family,” said Edelstein, who added that efforts to find Rodriguez’s luggage have been unsuccessful. “The family is very concerned about her.”

Authorities said Rodriguez will probably remain hospitalized for at least two more days.