‘Committed to Doing the Right Thing’: PIT Staff Finds Passenger’s Missing Diamond

April Schmitt had just returned home to Pittsburgh on June 13 from a hectic business trip in Los Angeles and was picking up her luggage in baggage claim.

She bumped her hand against the carousel track while retrieving her suitcase, but it wasn’t until she was driving home that she noticed the diamond in her engagement ring was missing.

“I panicked and my heart sank,” Schmitt, of Sewickley, said. “I truly didn’t think I was ever going to see it again.”

However, later that same day, airport maintenance staff let her know that they had found the diamond inside the baggage carousel.

“They put in an exhaustive effort to help me find my diamond,” said Schmitt, who has been married nearly 34 years. “It was really moving to see how much they were willing to help someone they didn’t even know.”

It’s the second time in less than two years that Pittsburgh International Airport staff successfully reunited a passenger with a missing diamond. In October 2023, PIT customer care agent April Laukaitis scoured the airport for passenger Kristen Tunno’s missing diamond from a ring her grandmother had given her. Laukaitis found it lodged between cracks in the tiles on a restroom floor.

In February, airport staff reunited a 6-year-old girl and her stuffed rabbit that was left behind at the airport. Additionally, this year, the airport rolled out the pilot program “We Got You,” which focuses on helping passengers navigate unexpected events.

It’s part of a customer service focus all airport staff integrate into their daily jobs – going above and beyond to help customers is what Pittsburgh International Airport is known for.

Tom Riordan, a stationary engineer with 20 years of experience at the airport, helps maintain the carousels and baggage system. He said staff was determined to help find the missing diamond, even amid “a labyrinth of steel and motors and belts” inside the carousel.

“The passenger’s smile is enough. That’s all we need. You can go to any employee here and they’d all do the same,” Riordan said.

He and electrician Steve Turkaly, also a 20-year airport veteran, were among the first staff members involved in the search.

“At Pittsburgh International, we all join as a group and try to solve whatever the problem is,” Turkaly said. “We didn’t give up. We try to treat everyone the same and give our best effort to help out passengers as they pass through the airport.”

For Schmitt, that customer focus led to the recovery of her diamond. After realizing that her diamond was missing, she returned to airport to search for it around the baggage carousel. She reported the issue to an airline staffer, who then alerted airport staff. An airport maintenance team arrived and searched inside the carousel, crawling on their hands and knees inside and under the track.

After 90 minutes of searching, Schmitt left for home, deflated. Riordan assured her that the next shift of workers would continue to search in between incoming flights.

The search continued and fellow PIT stationary engineer Sean Dempsey found the diamond inside the carousel. He said he was just doing his job by assisting a passenger in need.

“I just was crawling with a flashlight, and we had paint sticks to scrape all the dirt away,” he said. “The diamond caught a little bit of light and I found it.”

A few hours later Schmitt’s phone rang with the news that the diamond was found. “My jaw dropped,” she said.

“There were so many ways this story could have ended, but these guys were committed to doing the right thing and helping me. I travel a lot, and I go to a lot of airports,” Schmitt said.

“To have this experience here and to be treated like an important person – those staffers were so concerned about my happiness and doing the right thing for me. I was not just a random passenger. They went out of their way to take care of me.”