Documents obtained by NBC 5 Investigates indicate a California man who evaded detection at O'Hare for three months was carrying a key ring with 50 keys, which he said he found in an airport restroom.
Prosecutors said 36-year-old Aditya Singh had arrived Oct. 20 on a flight from Los Angeles, but was frightened to proceed further on his journey because of fears about the coronavirus.
Airline employees became concerned and reported Singh to police when they saw him wearing an airport ID badge that clearly was not his. That badge had been reported missing Oct. 19, according to Singh's arrest report, and the man said he found it in Terminal 3.
A separate document, a dispatch log stated, "Also found on subject was a big ring of keys with about 50 keys, round bronze tag (REDACTED) and a clip for belt loop. Subject says he found keys in bathroom of Ter3."
There is no explanation in the documents about what those keys were and whether they had been reported missing. The keys are also never mentioned in the police arrest report.
Many doors at O'Hare, especially those leading to secure or sensitive areas, are controlled by electronic swipe pads. Airport and airline employees open those doors by swiping a badge and punching in a code.
Local
Nothing in the documents state whether the keys opened airport doors or whether they might have been misplaced by another traveler.
The arrest report says Singh told police he had been eating and sleeping at the airport, "asking other passengers for money and that's how he survived."
The report says Singh told them he was out of money "and trying to figure out his next move."
Singh is currently free on electronic monitoring. Judge Susana Ortiz ordered him to stay away from O'Hare while his case was pending. He is living in a Chicago homeless shelter and is due back in court March 2.
