Midtown hotel guest reports theft of $300 while sleeping

Parker Maddock says about $300 in cash vanished from her hotel room in Midtown Nashville while she, her mother, and her grandmother were sleeping. The missing funds were the only items taken from the room at the Vanderbilt Marriott.

The three women were visiting an uncle who had recently undergone major surgery. Maddock stated they returned to their room around 8 p.m. on Friday night and secured the door. She noted that traveling as a group of three women made them particularly vigilant about locking their entrance. When her grandmother woke up early the following morning to visit the patient, she found the door cracked open and her purse missing.

The grandmother had placed her purse on the desk, directly on top of her key card and her laid-out clothes. Maddock explained that her grandmother is precise about her belongings and knew exactly where the item had been left. The family immediately contacted the police and went to the hotel front desk. Maddock described the front desk staff as kind but confused by the situation. Hotel security later informed them that they had located the purse in a stairwell in the middle of the night and returned it to the group.

Maddock said the incident left the group feeling unsafe because someone had entered a closed room where three women were alone. She described the fear of not knowing how long the intruder had been in the room. "You’re not thinking about what I’m missing, what was stolen, you’re thinking about the fact that someone was at your feet while you were sleeping," Maddock said. "I’m going to the extremes. I’m thinking it could have been five men breaking in. Anything could have happened in a closed door hotel room with three women alone. That’s what’s really frightening to us."

Maddock filed a report with the Vanderbilt Police Department. The department told WSMV that the report is still being processed and declined to provide further details. Officials did not state whether they have identified a suspect or made any arrests. The Marriott chain did not respond to requests for comment.

Since the incident, Maddock’s fiancé has purchased several types of door stops and locks for hotel rooms. Maddock said she is scheduled to travel for work next week and anticipates staying in a hotel room without feeling fully comfortable. "I don’t think I’ll ever travel the same again," she said.