Originally Posted by
ALARISstl
I seriously doubt that a baggage handler would bother with an AC adaptor even if he had his sights set on your laptop.
It fell out or you misplaced it before it was gate checked. Either way, you should be happy with the outcome.
In fairness to the OP, I don't think any of us can so definitively rule out theft. I don't think it was theft either, but I certainly am prepared to rule theft out altogether.