warreng24, you are exactly correct. The bag was given a green gate check tag, and she received it back plane side at Chicago. She then carried the bag with her the whole time, including on her connecting flight from Chicago to Denver. It is usually a quick turn around, but at Chicago they stood and waited for several minutes for their bags. We suspect that is when it happened, as this was the only time my mom didn't have her eyes directly on the bag. She came directly from the airport to my house, so there wasn't a chance of a bellman swiping it. When she arrived at my house, she opened the bag to find that her jewelry compartment was unzipped, and everything had been removed.

My mom is definitely not the glitzy type at all, but since I wasn't there I'm not sure if she said anything regarding the contents of her bag. Combined with her expensive camera equipment with multiple lenses, copies of original family photos from the 40s, cash, and everything else she needed for the wedding...she was traveling with a lot of important stuff. But what else can you do? You can't mail all that stuff, it's even more likely to disappear.

Do you recommend we contact Air Wisconsin directly and talk to them? Would we have more luck than with United? My mom has still not received a single response to her emails.