Airline strands girl headed to MI camp

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (WOOD/NBC) - A 10-year-old girl traveling to a summer camp in Traverse City was stranded in Chicago for hours after United Airlines allegedly failed to assist her during a layover.

It happened June 30, according to NBCNews.com. Pheobe Klebahn was en route from San Francisco to Traverse City.

Pheobe was meant to take a United Airlines flight to Chicago and then meet an unaccompanied minor agent who would escort her to a connecting flight to Traverse City, according to NBC News.

The Klebahns said in a July 13 letter to United Airlines they were told Pheobe would be accompanied by someone at all times.

But no one from the airline ever met Pheobe in Chicago, according to parents Annie and Perry Klebahn, and she was stranded there for hours.

-- Download and read the full letter to United Airlines from the Klebahns (.docx) --

NBC News said Pheobe reportedly asked United Airlines employees for a phone to call her parents three times, but she was repeatedly told to wait until she missed her flight.

"When she missed the flight she asked if someone had called the camp to make sure camp officials knew and they told her 'yes -- we will take care of it,'" the Klebahns said in the letter. "No one did. She was sad and scared and no one helped."

Camp officials called the Klebahns when Pheobe didn't show up in Traverse City as planned. They immediately called United Airlines, but were placed on hold for 20 minutes before being assisted by someone in India. After more conversation, they found out Pheobe had never left Chicago.

The Klebahns said in the letter it took a full hour between the time they found out Pheobe was not in Traverse City and the time they spoke to her on the phone. She had already been in Chicago for two hours.

United Airlines told the Klebahns the service to accompany minors had been outsourced and the third-party vendor in charge had forgotten to show up, the letter states.

It took four hours, but Pheobe eventually made it to Traverse City.

Her baggage didn't arrive in Michigan for another two days.

A United Airlines spokesperson told NBC News on Tuesday the company apologized, redeposited the miles used to purchase Pheobe's ticket and refunded the $99 unaccompanied minor charge.