Raw scene video

Approximately 70 pieces of luggage were found in a north Houston dumpster Tuesday.

KHOU-TV

Approximately 70 pieces of luggage were found in a north Houston dumpster Tuesday.

It was discovered by the owner of the pet store in the area.

Because of a recent fire, Pet City is closed for business.

It was closed so the owners can renovate which is why a huge dumpster sits outside the store.

That dumpster was today filled with luggage, not trash.

“We showed up here about 9:30 and we just noticed there was a bunch of luggage. There was one on the ground and we got up in the dumpster and it was full,” said Anthony Sander of Pet City.

Sander says it was obvious all the bags came from George Bush International Airport. 

The airport is just a couple of miles away.

“Yeah they have tags on them. Some of them aren’t in English though so I don’t know where they came from,” Sander said.

11 News found several tags that showed the bags were headed to France.

One went to Paris and Charles De Galle Airport.

One was sadly marked “rush.”

Harris County deputies were originally called to the scene, but 11 News was told the investigation would mainly be handled by Continental Airlines, who told 11 News it would not comment.

Our cameras captured its employees loading up the luggage into three trucks and taking it to Continental’s luggage facility off interstate 45-North.

Checking with the U.S. Department of Transportation we learned that Continental Airlines from January through June of this year, mishandled 78,461 pieces of luggage. That’s about 4.5 travelers per 1,000.

Police sources told 11 News that more often than not the bags are not mishandled or lost, but stolen, sometimes by people on the other side of the security check points. The source tells us that police become frustrated because the incidents are not reported by the airlines.

It makes for bad publicity the source said.

As for the bags in the dumpster today?

“Some are just completely empty and some don’t look touched at all,” said Sanders.

They were probably picked through by thieves who took what they wanted.

According to officials, the bags might have come from a Continental flight and most of them appear to have come from people in the Middle East.

Investigators working for Continental took the bags to a luggage facility off Interstate 45.