Cell phone loss a common problem at trade shows

Kevin Ferguson

Friday, Nov. 16, 2001 | 9:38 a.m.

Mike Charleboix was roaming the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center during the Comdex trade show Thursday, looking like a zombie.

He walked up to a security guard near the convention center's lost & found center and got a response before even asking a question.

"It still hasn't been turned in," said security dispatcher Rachelle Osborn.

Four days of being without his cell phone had been wearing on the job recruiter for Las Vegas-based Power Staffing.

That little handheld device had replaced his Rolodex three years ago. It also stored other critical data, like event schedules and personal notes he often needs at his fingertips.

That feeling of disorientation over lost digital gadgets was quite common this week, Osborn said.

On Thursday, she said there had been about 30 cell phones and four personal digital assistants reported lost in the past four days at the convention center, which was crammed with more than 100,000 techies.

Just a few years ago, those digital devices were considered an extravagance, but have quickly become a necessary method of keeping life in order for many people.

"It's weird not having it," said Charleboix, who usually keeps his phone clipped to the front pocket of his jeans. "I reach for it all the time, and it's not there."

He's not alone in that feeling, said convention security dispatcher Jim Keith, who related numerous stories about people who have come looking for their lost gadgets.

"I had one woman come to retrieve her day planner and while she was filling out a property loss report, she placed her cell phone down, and then left without it," he said, referring to a Comdex visitor.

In the past 10 months, there had been 255 cell phones reported lost at the Las Vegas Convention Center, said Don Ahl, director of safety and security for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

He said 197 of those have been found and returned to the owners.

Charleboix has been checking the lost and found once a day since Monday out of sheer hope, but he's fairly confident it's not going to turn up.

That's because he said it was swiped from a tray as he walked through the metal detectors at the entrance of the trade show.

That was an isolated incident, believes Rick Moore, spokesman for Key3Media Group, the organizer of Comdex.

"That's the first I've heard of such an incident," he said, noting that most people he's talked with said security has been tight.

Charleboix immediately called his wireless carrier Cingular and reported it lost, so that it couldn't be used by whoever has it.

And since he had insurance on it, Charleboix said Cingular will issue him a new phone, but unfortunately, it won't be loaded with his notes and phone numbers.

Reporting a lost phone to the cell company may be the most logical first step in most cases.

But dispatcher Osborn said delaying the cancellation helped her get her stolen car back two years ago. She had her cell phone in her Saturn SC 3-Door Coup, and the thieves made calls on it while taking the car for a joy ride.

When she got her phone bill, she turned it over to police detectives, who were able to use the phone numbers as a trail that led to the criminals.

Comdex visitor Gregory Warfield tried tracing his friend's lost cell phone by calling the number and talking to who ever found it or stole it. He said a lady answered and acted as if she was turning it over to authorities.

"She said 'Oh yeah, I have it. I'm turning it into the lost and found right now," ' he said.

But to no avail. He said after about an hour, it hadn't been turned in and when he called it again, the phone had been turned off.

All lost items turned in to convention authorities are held for at least 30 days.

Items that appear to have a lot of value get appraised.

Those items that turn out to be worth $250 or more get reported to the finance department and an official report is made.

Unclaimed items eventually are auctioned.