Reports keep coming about the death of Carol Anne Gotbaum at the Phoenix airport last week.
Allegedly, after creating a disturbance, Gotbaum was arrested by airport police, handcuffed, and left alone in a holding cell. She was found dead a short time later, and there has been ongoing speculation about her behavior, the actions of the police, and the cause of her death.
Amid all the reports and speculation, one question stands out. If she was indeed a depressed, suicidal alcoholic on her way to a treatment center, why was she traveling alone? Where were the family members or friends who should have been accompanying her? Who was irresponsible enough to let someone in that condition travel alone, or be alone at all?
I thought adults were allowed to travel alone. She wasn’t incompetent, she was on her way to Tucson. Do you know how many people traveling alone have cried and got hysterical after missing a flight, being told they can’t get on the next flight, being STRANDED at the airport. Not all of us are have the stiff upperlip that seems to be revered in America today.
If the Gotbaums had know they were sending her to a police state where unaccompanied passengers were responsible for their death because they traveled alone, I’m sure they would not even had sent her to Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, but would have made sure she had a direct flight to Tucson. Who knew?