MOLINE - Just back from a Disney vacation in Florida, James Uhlenhake and his family weren't expecting another adventure in the airport.
But that's just what they got in the Quad City International Airport on Monday, January 22.
"We got split up," he recalled.
TSA shut down a checkpoint after detecting suspicious items in a carry-on. That brought things to a standstill for over an hour, separating families and delaying a departing flight.
"We got the stroller," he continued. "By the time we got to security, they told us to turn around and wait there."
That was after his family, along with Megan Baltes and her kids, had to wait it out in baggage claim.
"We weren't really sure what to do," Megan said. "Should we stay here or try to go to our vehicle if it was safer there? We weren't really sure."
Officers checked out the items from another departing passenger, which looked like explosive components, but turned out to be a surveillance camera and viewing device.
Just after 10 a.m., passengers were back on the move, and the two families reunited.
"The kids and I are all split up, and the baby needed formula," James said. "But we got through it."
As Megan Baltes prepared her family for the long drive back to New Hampton, Iowa, she looked back on the experience.
"You hear about it every day on the news, and you don't think you'll be a part of it," she concluded. "But we were today."
