A California man was arrested after allegedly hiding at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport undetected for three months because he was scared of the novel coroanvirus.
During a hearing earlier this month, Assistant State's Attorney Kathleen Hagerty said that Singh was spotted by two United Airlines employees, who asked him for identification, the Chicago Tribune reported. Singh lowered his mask and showed a badge that actually belonged to an operations manager at the airport who had reported it missing in late October, Hagerty said.
The employees called police, who took Singh into custody. Singh was "scared to go home due to COVID," Hagerty said, and told authorities that he’d found the badge and that other passengers at the airport had given him food.
An assistant public defender said Singh does not have a criminal record. She also said it was unclear why Singh, who is unemployed, came to Chicago or if he has ties to the area.
Before she granted Singh bail, Cook County Judge Susana Ortiz was clearly troubled that someone could remain in a secured area for so long at the airport without anyone noticing.
Prosecutors later revealed Singh had flown from Los Angeles to the Chicago airport on Oct. 20 but was too scared of COVID-19 to leave the airport.
In addition to the badge, which Singh said he discovered in Terminal 3 of the airport, the man was also found to have been in possession of "a big ring of keys with about 50 keys.
He allegedly told police he also found the keys in Terminal 3.
Singh told police he survived by "asking other passengers for money," according to the report. He allegedly griped about exhausting his funds and said he was "trying to figure out his next move."
