A country singer whose luggage was stolen outside London St Pancras International station claims he was told by officers they were “not responsible” for retrieving his possessions.
Steve Ray Ladson travelled on the Eurostar from a gig in Paris last weekend when thieves grabbed his personal belongings.
He also lost “twenty years worth” of music stored on his laptop, including parts of an upcoming track with Billy Ray Cyrus.
The 35-year-old from South Carolina, who was a finalist on this year’s America's Got Talent, was waiting for a taxi outside St Pancras at 10pm on Sunday when a stranger swiped his bag “in a matter of 25 or 30 seconds”.
He quickly located the stolen items by tracking his iPhone inside his suitcase using Apple’s “FindMyPhone” app.
However, a 999 dispatcher told him and his manager Anastasia Mye to call back in the morning if it was not a “life or death” emergency.
They claimed an officer from the British Transport Police told them at the scene they were “not responsible” and told her to call Scotland Yard.
The pair became increasingly frustrated and decided to pursue the thieves themselves, tracking them down on three separate occasions.
Dashcam footage shared by Mr Ladson shows a group of men standing next to what appears to be a suitcase and duffel bag.
Mr Ladson thought about approaching the suspects but feared he would “get stabbed or hurt”, telling LBC: “At each point I had called the police and given them the location, but they didn't come until the final location, by which time it was too late and they had deactivated the tracking device.”
Ms Myer added that the forces could have “very easily” retrieved the devices if they “had been able to help at the moment”.
A Met spokesman said: “Police were called at 11.58pm on Sunday, October 12 to reports of luggage stolen outside St Pancras Train Station in King's Cross. The victim tracked the suspect on his phone and believed he had located him on Finchley Road, Belsize, at which point he called the police.
“Officers attended the scene. They spoke to the victim and carried out a thorough search for the suspect but were unable to trace him. No arrests have been made and enquiries continue. If you have any information that could help police, please contact 101 quoting CAD 7499/12Oct.”
