Thousands Stolen From Family's Safe At Disney Resort
POSTED: 11:29 am EDT May 10, 2004
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A family from India says its visit to the happiest place on earth has been miserable. The family says someone broke into their Disney hotel suite and cleaned out their safe, stealing thousands of dollars.
The family says, instead of helping, the resort staff added insult to their injury.
Kaajal Anand says the plan was to end their trip to Disney World with a visit to one of the theme parks, but she says that plan drastically changed when she walked over to the safe in her suite to grab some cash.
"When I reached the safe, there was a second key in the safe and the safe was open and everything was gone," she explains.
Her passport, airline tickets, $3,000 in cash, $10,000 in travelers checks, Anand says the thief packed it all in her $3,000 Louis Vuitton travel bag and walked away.
But, Anand says, what is more shocking is how she believes the thief got into her room. She says hotel managers practically invited them in.
Anand says desk clerks at the Wilderness Lodge told her someone called from the room claiming to have lost their safe key.
"So, they actually sent an engineer up who made a second key for this person," she explains.
Anand says she could not believe this, since she was so thoroughly screened when she checked into the resort.
"It was such a procedure for me to get checked into my room. How come it was so easy for somebody to get a key to the safe without ID?" she wonders.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office is investigating the burglary.
A Disney representative told Channel 9, they are cooperating with the sheriff's office and conducting their own investigation as well.
As for Anand, she says she is borrowing money from friends in hopes she can fly to New York on Monday and get another passport to get home to India.
"I'm stranded. I don't have money, I don't have credit cards and I don't have my ticket, and the airline won't allow me out of here without photo ID," she says.
The sheriff's office says, since this is a property crime and not a violent crime, it could take several days before a detective is assigned to the case and they get to the bottom of this.
POSTED: 11:29 am EDT May 10, 2004
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A family from India says its visit to the happiest place on earth has been miserable. The family says someone broke into their Disney hotel suite and cleaned out their safe, stealing thousands of dollars.
The family says, instead of helping, the resort staff added insult to their injury.
Kaajal Anand says the plan was to end their trip to Disney World with a visit to one of the theme parks, but she says that plan drastically changed when she walked over to the safe in her suite to grab some cash.
"When I reached the safe, there was a second key in the safe and the safe was open and everything was gone," she explains.
Her passport, airline tickets, $3,000 in cash, $10,000 in travelers checks, Anand says the thief packed it all in her $3,000 Louis Vuitton travel bag and walked away.
But, Anand says, what is more shocking is how she believes the thief got into her room. She says hotel managers practically invited them in.
Anand says desk clerks at the Wilderness Lodge told her someone called from the room claiming to have lost their safe key.
"So, they actually sent an engineer up who made a second key for this person," she explains.
Anand says she could not believe this, since she was so thoroughly screened when she checked into the resort.
"It was such a procedure for me to get checked into my room. How come it was so easy for somebody to get a key to the safe without ID?" she wonders.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office is investigating the burglary.
A Disney representative told Channel 9, they are cooperating with the sheriff's office and conducting their own investigation as well.
As for Anand, she says she is borrowing money from friends in hopes she can fly to New York on Monday and get another passport to get home to India.
"I'm stranded. I don't have money, I don't have credit cards and I don't have my ticket, and the airline won't allow me out of here without photo ID," she says.
The sheriff's office says, since this is a property crime and not a violent crime, it could take several days before a detective is assigned to the case and they get to the bottom of this.
