Originally published 2018-02-11.
In February 2016, a traveller at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport in Florida was told he could not take a liquid-filled snow globe through security. It was a personalised present for the little girl he and his wife had just adopted, and with his flight about to leave he had no choice but to throw it in the bin. A young woman waiting nearby saw how upset he was, her boyfriend pulled the parcel back out of the trash, and a Facebook post shared tens of thousands of times eventually brought the globe home to the family in April 2016.
It is a small story, but it has stayed popular for good reasons: it shows how quickly strangers can help, and it carries a practical lesson for anyone flying with a fragile, sentimental gift.
What happened at the security checkpoint
The finder, Ivelise Amarri Hernandez, was at the airport with her boyfriend when she noticed a man being stopped with a package. In her Facebook post she described him asking whether the gift could be left at lost and found, explaining that it was a snow globe for his adopted grandchild. According to her account, the reply was a curt instruction to put it in "file 13", slang for the rubbish bin.
News reports later identified the traveller as Michael Moore, the son of Linda Modry. The globe had been made for his new daughter, Katie, a five-year-old girl he and his wife had recently adopted. Before reaching security he had tried to check it in at the Allegiant Air counter, but it was not accepted there either, so he threw it away and hurried to catch his flight to Ohio.
The gift inside the package
Hernandez saw him walking away in tears. Her boyfriend went back to the bin and retrieved the box, and as Moore rushed to his gate the couple called out that they would find a way to get it back to him. They did not know his name.
When they opened the package they found a custom snow globe decorated with family photographs, including the new parents, their dog and Katie. Linda Modry had ordered it in January to celebrate the adoption. According to Hernandez's post, it carried a message to Katie from "Nana and Papa" with the date 1/25/16. It was clearly not something the family could simply replace.
How Facebook and a shop employee found the family
With no name or phone number to go on, Hernandez posted photos of the globe on Facebook and asked people to help her find its owner. She expected a few hundred shares. Within about a week the post had been shared more than 48,000 times.
The breakthrough came from an employee at Things Remembered, the personalised-gift retailer that had made the globe. She recognised the product, searched the company's order records and found the customer's phone number. The buyer was Linda Modry, who lives in Florida. Hernandez contacted her, and the two arranged to meet.
(The Facebook post originally embedded here is no longer available.)
The reunion
Hernandez handed the globe over outside her home in Tampa in late April 2016. Speaking to FOX 13, Modry explained why the gift mattered so much: "This was something really special for my granddaughter, Katie." She told the Associated Press it was lucky that it was raining when she collected it, "because we were all crying."
Modry also said that Katie had been disappointed when the present never arrived. With the girl's birthday coming up the following month, she and her husband planned to fly to Ohio and deliver the globe in person, this time packed properly. Hernandez, for her part, played down her role, telling reporters: "My mom always raised us to always be good to people."
The local TV report on the reunion is below.
Why the snow globe was not allowed on board
The officer's manner may have been unkind, but the rule itself is real. Under the US Transportation Security Administration's guidance, a snow globe can go in a carry-on bag only if it holds 3.4 ounces (100 ml) of liquid or less and the whole globe, base included, fits inside a single quart-sized resealable bag. Anything larger has to travel in checked luggage. The TSA also notes that the officer at the checkpoint has the final say.
Most decorative globes, especially personalised ones with a photo base, are far too big for that bag. That is why so many are confiscated every winter.
Travelling with a sentimental gift
A few simple steps can save a lot of heartache:
- Check the rules before you pack. Liquids, gels, snow globes and anything that looks like them are the usual problem items. The TSA's "What Can I Bring?" pages list most of them.
- Ship it ahead. For something irreplaceable, posting it to your destination with tracking and insurance is often the safest choice.
- Pack it to be checked. If it must fly with you, wrap it well, put it in a sturdy box and check it in, leaving time at the counter in case of questions.
- Keep a record. A photo of the gift and its order details make it much easier to trace or replace if something goes wrong.
- Ask about options. Some airports offer mailing services or will hold items for a short time; it is worth asking before giving something up.
And if you ever see a stranger in the same situation, this story is a reminder that a little effort, a public post and one helpful person with access to the right records can be enough to bring something precious back where it belongs.
Sources: FOX 13 Tampa Bay: Internet helps reunite owner with snow globe trashed at airport (27 April 2016); Associated Press via Fox News: Owner reunited with sentimental snow globe; TSA: Snow globes. Photos: FOX 13 News and Ivelise Amarri Hernandez on Facebook.
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