Originally Posted by
kale73
The person who was moving about the tarmac with it may have had "regrets" and left it in a more accesible place.
We can't tell from the OP how it was stolen. So an alternative story might be an employee found it, looked around for the owner, then had to continue to go about their job (which may have involved walking around the tarmac) and eventually put it in a drawer at a gate, to be handed to L&F when there was an opportunity to deal with it. Maybe the OP will get a call one of these days?