I worked as a hospitalera several times, my personal guess is that it is more likely that it was either a confusion (those towels all look pretty similar), he forgot things on a washing line, somebody packed it by accident, it fall under a bed or similar. Theft can happen, but in my experience it rarely involves t-shirts and towels, real thieves go for more valuable stuff like money and electronics. SY
it can indeed, and it
does involve T-shirts and towels --
one can't know what serves a thieving-mind/mentality - sometimes it's cash and other valuables, sometimes simple things as towels, slippers, t-shirts, etc etc.
thefts just don't happen - they are perpetrated. with an intention behind it. (to seperate the owner from his/her belongings to suit the thief's purpose, whatever that might be.)
real thieves go what serves them. small time or big time items.
then there is the case of mistaken identity - i.e. taking something one thinks it belongs to me. happens even with shopping carts ...
that's a different issue - but for the one missing the item/s, it's not obvious. it can't be known if it was theft or mistaken ID (unless they are mind-readers or such) - they just have to deal with the fact that an item belonging of them is gone.
and yes, the camino is not a path that only features 'golden rule' pilgrims. scoundrels and thieves and worse were among the pilgrims for centuries.
just like on your trip to the local green grocer ....
luckily, in my experience - the camino was populated with mostly 'golden rule' pilgrims.
and it does help, to only surround oneself with items that can be replaced. detachment and equipoise are a good approach, but that's a topic for another thread