Finding some thing of value that isn't yours how did you handle it? Share your stories.

[NDIHC]

Last winter I stopped at a convenience store on my way home from work. I got the items I wanted and left for home. We live about 45 miles from where I worked and about 15 miles out I realized that my wallet wasn't in my back pocket. I looked through my coat pockets and vehicle, no sign of the wallet. It had $600 in cash and all of my cards, driver's license, concealed carry permit and so forth in it. I called the convenience store and the guy who answered said nobody turned anything in. I assumed someone found it and the cash and it was long gone. I drove back to the store and went inside and asked again, nobody saw anything. By that time it had been about 45 minutes since I had been at the store. I looked around where I had walked before and saw nothing. I got back in my suv and was about leave, but got back out and walked over to where I was parked before. There was a car parked in the spot. I looked underneath and there it was. Reached under and grabbed it, everything was still in it. It was partially covered in snow so it probably just looked like a clump of snow that fell off of a car.

 

[redtom]

Probably 20 years ago I was walking out if a store at night in the rain. A pickup went around the corner at the intersection and "wham" i heard what i knew was a tool box hitting the road. I ran to get it. Mostly because it was a usually a very busy corner and in the dark and rain someone would hit it and maybe crash. I waited a bit to see if any one returned. I went home and put a brief story on Craigslist saying if they could call and describe where they were working and what the tools were i would give them back. A guy called and made the id. He came and I gave them back.

 

[Phill Tibbetts]

I never turn anything I find in. I tell someone or leave word where I found it, but do not disclose what it is so the owner will have to describe it. Too many things turned in never get back to the owner, no matter who I give it to. IMO

 

[47fivewindow]

I never turn anything I find in. I tell someone or leave word where I found it, but do not disclose what it is so the owner will have to describe it. Too many things turned in never get back to the owner, no matter who I give it to. IMO

I recently found a fat wallet on the floor of the grocery store. I took it to a specious looking young man working the customer service counter. He put it under the counter. I demanded he look inside for the owners name and page him. I stayed till the owner showed up and I saw him handed his wallet, then I left. Not saying the kid was going to keep it but you never know.

 

[JOCCO]

Most expensive thing I ever came across was two new 12" Epiroc Rotary drill bits. Contacted the company and the serial number told that they were sold to a drilling outfit in PA. Got ahold of the company and ask if they had anything missing. Was told that an ex-employee had stolen two bits.. Met up with a guy from the company to return them and he tried to pay me a $10,000 "reward". I passed.

Other than that I have found everything from money, guns and tools to lady undergarments in the woods. Some got returned, some were untraceable.

I was thinking this was going to be they showed up with a sheriff and charged you with stolen property.

 

[JOCCO]

I found a huge diamond ring in a women's restroom at a large well known business.
The diamond had to be at least 3 carats... the gold band was huge! Must have been one Amazon of a gal.

I gave the ring to my boss who said he would turn it in to our security team.
I hope that he actually did!!!

May be he gave it to his next ex wife

 

[SweetFeet]

First Jocco is lambed up pretty bad from a recent job so slower day today. Anyway finding something of value that isn't yours. Wallet in parking lot, chainsaw on shoulder of road, mail or package delivered to you that is some one else. You get the picture For me there have been lots of stuff over the years. I made a reasonable attempt to find the owner. Some times it was not possible. We were logging on a job site and a guy found a pistol hidden in a tree (hollow cavity) he kept it! Driving up a road one day me and another fellow started to find tools strewed along in batches. They must have come off a truck somehow. No clue on how or why. Mrs Jocco found a wallet with quite a bit of money in it but no id. The rightful owner surfaced and id it.

May be he gave it to his next ex wife

Welllll... He did definitely end up with a "first ex-wife". She was a nice gal. She stay here - he moved off to another state.
Too bad, because they had a young daughter.

He may have other ex-wives by now... he seemed to be that kind of guy - the alley cat type.

 

[Tony in SD]

When I was in my 30s, i taped a dollar bill to an old billfold so you could see part of the bill outside of the billfold and tied a fishing line from a rod & reel to it, Then the kids and I went to the "arts in the parks" craft show in a local park. My kids and I went "people fishing". Almost everybody said they were going to turn it in. Most thought it was funny but what surprised me, was when one grumpy old lady got mad at one of my kids for catching her. She started to get in my daughter's face when I jumped in between. Then she told me she was going to turn us in to the police. I told her to go ahead if you can find one I had not caught and released.

 

[scootergmc]

We once found a $20 bill while walking on beach cliffs in the middle of nowhere. Kept it.

As for the dollar bill fishing, they make little retractable reel/spool for pranking people. As kids we did it at Disneyland a long time ago and had a great time, until an old timer knew what was up and he stepped on the bill prior to picking it up. Quick ol' coot he was. He gave himself a good laugh like old men do, followed by a lecture like we were a bunch of clouds in the sky. We kept doing it that day, but I guess it worked??? because I still remember the fun we had...

 

[Bob Collins]

My wife found a ring of keys near our intersection while she was walking, no ID on it but it had a library card tag. I took it to the library and she identified the owner but would not tell me who it was! She called him and said I was there with his keys. It was a neighbor who said he would be there in three minutes. Keys were on top of his wife's car when they fell off, now they were ready to leave for a trip and were in a panic to find the keys. He couldn't thank me enough, the whole episode was probably less than an hour.