by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
According to a Web poll conducted by ImHONEST.com, a company that has developed a system to reunite lost items like cell phones and cameras with their rightful owners, 75 percent of respondents reported losing something they owned in the past year – and 13 percent admitted they had lost three or more items in that period.
The Atlanta-based company sells packs of adhesive labels with registration numbers that can be attached to easily misplaced items. When someone finds one of the labeled items, they can log onto the Web site, enter the registration number and report their discovery to begin the process of returning the fugitive object to its owner.
The fact of the matter is people lose things every day and sometimes don’t even bother to figure out what happened.
“Most of the stuff that’s turned in, the owners never come looking for it. I think a lot of people don’t know how much stuff they have,” commented Waymond Lee, First Coast Security site supervisor at Independent Square.
Lee said while lost items being turned in to the security desk at the building are not an every day occurrence, it’s a regular one. Identification badges and cell phones are the most-often-lost items and in most cases those are relatively easy to return to their owners.
“If it’s a company ID badge, it usually belongs to someone who works here in this building, so the person is easy to track down. When we find a drivers license, we look up the person’s phone number, but sometimes we can’t find them. If we find a wallet, there’s usually nothing left in it.”
Lee said all recovered items are held for 60 days and the disposition of unclaimed items depends on what it is. A security guard once found $4 in one of the parking garages and turned it in, then took possession of it when no one contacted the security desk to ask if $4 had been found.
“He looked at me like he was kind of surprised, but he was honest enough to turn it in, so I gave it back to him after 90 days,” said Lee.
Last week, a diamond tennis bracelet was left behind in one of the restrooms and was turned in, but the owner inquired about it and got the bracelet back the same day, he said. Lee also said there’s a funny thing about lost earrings – it’s always just one, never a pair.
Quite a few people lose their sunglasses and eyeglasses in and around the building, as well as coats, jackets and gloves. Lee said about once a year, they donate the unclaimed glasses to the Lions Club to be given to people who need glasses but can’t afford them and the unclaimed clothing is stored until the end of the year, when it is also donated to social service organizations for distribution. Unclaimed cell phones are donated to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for their new program to give the phones to senior citizens who need them for emergency calls to 9-1-1, but could not otherwise afford to have one.
Lee said unusual items are also found, like the blood-glucose monitor that was turned in a coupe of months ago and has not been claimed. When asked to describe the most unusual item ever found, it didn’t take Lee long to recall the time when, “We found a pair of ladies underwear in the lobby one afternoon.”
The Landing also has a system in place for lost items, said public relations director Rachel Kaltenbach.
“We have a lot of common areas here like the courtyard and the food court in addition to the restrooms. Our housekeeping staff works with our security staff when an item is found. They bring it to the office, where we keep it until someone comes in to claim it. If you lose something in one of the stores or restaurants, they usually keep the item until it’s returned to the owner.”
She added a common way people lose something like a purse, jacket or sweater at the Landing is to leave it on the back of a chair at the food court. It’s also not uncommon to find baby bags left behind next to the changing tables in the restrooms.
Office Manager Janice Gallimore is in charge of lost & found at the Landing. She said it’s not unusual for the collection of misplaced gear to take up an entire closet, especially after big events like Florida-Georgia weekend but after 60 days, “It either goes into the dumpster or we donate it. If it’s a credit or debit card and nobody claims it in a few days, we send it to their bank.”
Kaltenbach also said the Landing’s security staff specializes in returning the most precious item anyone could possibly lose and it happened the evening of the 4th of July fireworks show.
“It’s rare, but we have had cases where a child has been separated from the parents in a big crowd. Last week it was a 7-year-old girl, but security took her to the stage in the courtyard and we made an announcement that she had been found, so it didn’t take long for her parents to claim her.”
SMG manages all the City’s sports and entertainment facilities and with thousands of people attending football games, baseball games, hockey games and concerts each year, it’s a given some of them leave things behind.
SMG spokesperson Nan Coyle said after a football game or concert, people almost always find and turn in some binoculars and a few cell phones, but not as many as they did years ago.
“I think people have gotten used to modern security procedures at the venues, so they just don’t bring much in with them any more.”
Coyle also said the security offices stay open for a half-hour after the end of a game or show to allow people who have lost their car keys to claim them if someone has turned in the keys to the office.
People also lose things at public libraries and Stacie Bucher, marketing and communications manager, said those facilities are unique when it comes to the relationship between people and their possessions. She said lately there have been cases when people discovered personal items were missing but perhaps not “lost.”
“Sometimes we have issues with people keeping track of their personal items at the libraries. People feel comfortable here – and we want them to – but we want to caution our customers that this is a public place like a shopping mall, a park or the beach. It’s wise to keep your belongings with you if you go to the restroom or to use the copier.”