Losing luggage during an overseas journey is tough. The contents could be damaged, if not sent to a mystery location or gone entirely. But Merry Cannon’s lost luggage story is one for the history books. Cannon was flying from Arkansas to France with her children to surprise her husband on a business trip. However, after the flight was cancelled, the Cannons missed their connecting flight to Chicago. The Cannons booked a replacement flight, but even that got delayed.

After several days of travel trauma, the family finally got to France. But the drama wasn't over yet. “They lost our luggage for five days,” Cannon explained, as reported by Travel + Leisure. When the family did get their belongings, it smelled pretty awful too. “I actually told them that it smelt like something had died. I of course didn’t think that was actually the case,” Cannon explained. At home, Cannon made her way to the bottom of the bag and found the dead rat. “I have never screamed and cried so much in my life,” she said.  As Travel + Leisure points out, Cannon received a payout of $1,600, but this leaves the traveler unsatisfied. “To me it’s not so much the money, it’s the lack of respect they have,” she said.