Repeat stowaway bypasses security, arrested at Las Vegas airport: police

Woman told police she repeatedly flies without tickets, documents say

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A woman reportedly bypassed airport security and flew as a stowaway from Los Angeles to Las Vegas before her arrest Sunday, documents said. According to the woman, this isn’t the first time she’s done it, either.

Sarah Rice, 39, of Boulder, Colorado, faces two misdemeanor charges connected to her arrest at Harry Reid International Airport, documents obtained by Nexstar’s KLAS said.

That night, officers at the airport responded to a report of a woman who was on a Spirit Airlines flight without a ticket or identification, police said.

“[Rice] subsequently advised officers that she did not have a ticket for the flight she was on due to her sneaking through TSA in [LAX] and sneaking onto a Spirit flight to Harry Reid International Airport,” police said.

Due to the alleged security breach, Metro police advised the FBI and other counterterrorism officials of the incident, they said.

Rice told police she had taken a bus from Colorado to Salt Lake City where she breached airport security and took a flight to LAX. She tried to fly to Saudi Arabia but was caught and arrested, Rice told police, according to a report.

“Rice additionally told [an FBI agent] she has attempted to sneak on multiple flights in the past to various locations both domestically and internationally but has not always been successful,” police said.

According to police, Rice snuck through TSA security at LAX on Jan. 7. She then waited in a gate area for a day before boarding the Las Vegas-bound flight.

Family members told police Rice “has snuck on numerous domestic and international flights to their knowledge.”

Police say Rice has been charged with violating airport rules and theft, because she allegedly flew on the flight without a ticket. Police booked Rice into the Clark County Detention Center where she was later released that same day.

TSA and Spirit Airlines did not immediately respond to KLAS’s request for comment.