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'Serial stowaway' with history of sneaking on flights arrested at Chicago O'Hare

Marilyn Hartman's ankle bracelet led police to find her at ORD's Terminal 1.

A woman with a history of being a "serial stowaway" and sneaking on flights was arrested at Chicago O'Hare International Airport after police were tipped off by her ankle bracelet, officials said Wednesday.

Marilyn Hartman, 69, was already awaiting sentencing for trying to sneak on a commercial craft when her GPS ankle bracelet went off at about noon on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Cook County Sheriff's Office.

The alarm indicated Hartman was outside "the residential facility where she" had been mandated to stay, the statement said. After Hartman didn't pick up her phone, authorities said they spotted the ankle bracelet headed toward O’Hare.

She arrived at Terminal 1 at about 1:38 p.m. CT and an "alarm siren was activated on Hartman’s device" leading to her arrest by Chicago police before she could "enter any secure areas," the sheriff said.

Hartman will be charged with felony escape for Tuesday's journey to O'Hare, the sheriff said. She was still in custody on Wednesday, held without bail until her next court appearance, scheduled for Thursday, according to jail records.

It wasn't clear on Wednesday if Hartman had hired an attorney, the sheriff said. A representative for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office could not be immediately reached for comment.

Hartman has a long history of trespassing. Since the first incident at the San Francisco International Airport in February 2014, she has been accused of similar incidents in Los Angeles, Arizona and Minnesota in addition to Chicago.

Back in 2018, Hartman sneaked on to a British Airways flight and made it to London before the airline realized she didn't have a ticket and sent her back to Chicago.