I could use advice for a friend who's stranded in Chicago with no ID

[starroute]

She went out there for the science fiction worldcon and had her wallet stolen. Now she has no ID and no other documents on her to prove her identity. Without ID, she's not sure if she's going to be able to fly home on Tuesday -- and apparently you can't even get a train ticket without ID these days.

She'd been told initially that she could just show security the Victim Report explaining the theft -- but now she finds out the police won't release the report to her without her presenting ID.

The TSA website doesn't say much to help, and the office is closed for the weekend and presumably won't open until Tuesday morning, when she needs to be on her flight.

So does anybody have any advice, clues, or names of someone official who might be available on a holiday weekend and willing and able to cut through red tape?

[Tobin S.]

1. Sounds like it's time for a road trip

I don't know how far away you are.

[femmocrat]

2. Are you sure someone didn't just hack your email?

My email was hacked recently everyone on my list received a request to send money because I was "stranded in Wales."

If I'm off-base, I apologize in advance.

[starroute]

4. No, she's been freaking out on Facebook about it

My husband got one of those "stranded in Wales" emails too, so I know what you mean. But this is nothing like that. She doesn't need money -- just some way to get out of Chicago.

[lunatica]

3. Call home and have someone else pay for a bus or train ticket home.

If she has any ID left at home she might be able to get someone to send her a copy of it. Maybe the police will release the report to her that way. I had a friend of mine have a motel manager call me in order to pay for a night for her. She could do the same thing since they can see that the credit card is good.

My son had all his IDs stolen. Passport, Social Security and driver's license when he moved to New York. He couldn't get any ID re-issued because everyone wanted a form of ID to re-issue ID. I ended up having to to get certified copies of his birth certificate from Mexico where he was born and I had to get his American birth certificate from the State Department. None of the paperwork I had from the time he was born was acceptable anymore. I also had to get someone who was an official translator of legal documents to translate his Mexican Birth Certificate.

He never carries his papers all together in one place anymore. If someons steals one ID he still has the other IDs.

[Phentex]

5. I googled and found same info...

if there's anyone at home that could access any kind of ID, she might be able to have them faxed to her. The list included a library card and a Costco card!

Birth certificate, passport, insurance card could work. On a holiday weekend, it's going to be tough.

[ret5hd]

6. Flying without id:

http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~daw/faa/noid.html

[starroute]

7. Thanks -- I added that to her Facebook thread

She'd been googling around as well and found some people saying they do a Lexis/Nexus search on you, and if you can answer obscure questions about yourself, you're home free.

She's got a pretty solid online presence, including photos, so if that's all it takes she should be fine.

[Kali]

8. this thread is one of the reason I love this place!

good luck to your friend!

[mucifer]

9. Does her job have a copy of her driver's license?

I had my work fax their copy of my licence and it got me on a plane.

[grasswire]

10. from TSA web site

Adult passengers (18 and over) are required to show a U.S. federal or state-issued photo ID in order to be allowed to go through the checkpoint and onto their flight.

We understand passengers occasionally arrive at the airport without an ID, due to lost items or inadvertently leaving them at home. Not having an ID, does not necessarily mean a passenger won’t be allowed to fly. If passengers are willing to provide additional information, we have other means of substantiating someone’s identity, like using publicly available databases.

Passengers who are cleared through this process may be subject to additional screening. Passengers whose identity cannot be verified by TSA may not be allowed to enter the screening checkpoint or onto an airplane.

[Major Nikon]

11. Show me YOUR papers!

[Corgigal]

12. just get the case number of the theft report

then contact the airline with that number and see what they say. Back in the day when I worked dispatch, all you needed was case numbers and a way for others to verify the information and you're good to go.

[starroute]

13. Thanks to everyone, but it sounds like she'll be fine

Luckily, she's got an extensive online presence -- website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, lots of photos, even a few passing mentions at Wikipedia. (People who participate actively in science fiction conventions tends to be well-documented that way.) I don't think she'll have any trouble proving she matches the name on her ticket.

[turtlerescue1]

14. IF nothing works than call

United Way's FirstCallForHelp.