IL: 64-year-old ‘serial stowaway’ arrested at O’Hare Airport

A woman with a history of sneaking aboard airplanes, including in Phoenix, has been arrested again at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Hartman, described by police as a habitual trespasser and stowaway, was arrested on Wednesday at the bus shuttle center outside a flight terminal at O’Hare, the spokeswoman said. She was ordered held on a $150,000 bond in court Thursday. She’s successfully stowed away on at least two flights, too: one from San Francisco to Honolulu in February of 2014, and another from San Jose to Los Angeles in August 2014.

She spent six months in jail, was released in December, put on probation and electronic monitoring, and sent to a mental health facility, according to NBC Chicago.

Hartman had been ordered to stay away from Chicago’s airports, after repeatedly trying to sneak past security at both O’Hare and Midway.

She has been charged with a misdemeanor trespassing charge and a felony charge of petition to violate probation. Recently, Hartman was confined to a locked mental health facility.

Last month in Chicago, Hartman told NBC5 Investigates that she wanted nothing more than to stop the transient life she has led for the last decade.

“If not, you’re forcing me to send you to jail”, he warned. She also said she once flew from Minneapolis to Florida without a ticket. And just days after her release, she was arrested again at LAX.

She has offered little in the way of explanation for her behavior, once telling reporters: “Even smart people do stupid things”.