Originally Posted by jkhuggins

I am not a lawyer ... but I suspect that one may, in fact, be granting the valet a limited license to search the vehicle. It all depends on what the actual terms of the contract are --- whatever the fine print on the valet ticket says, or what the signs posted upon entry to the parking facility say, or whatever. Whether those terms are legal and/or enforceable, of course, is a matter for wiser minds than I to debate.

But I suspect that there's more to the story than this brief news article can describe.