People Who Work In Lost And Found Share Surprising Things No One Came Back For

Perhaps one of the greatest rushes of dopamine we can experience is running over to a lost and found location, and discovering that some kind person dropped our misplaced item off there.

So it's hard to imagine why a person wouldn't try to be reunited with their lost items.

Pondering the idea, Redditor Sad_Translator_3060 asked:

"People who work in Lost and Found departments (like airports, railways, malls), what's the most personal item no one ever came back for?"

When It Rains

"I was working at a theater the other day, and someone managed to leave behind a designer raincoat while it was actively pouring."

"We stood there until the building had cleared out, assuming someone would come dashing back in for it."

- BeneficialPast

"This is how I obtained a Burberry umbrella. And then I promptly left it at the same place (work), and someone else took it. I couldn't even be mad, LOL."

- moonahmoonah

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words

"I didn't work in Lost and Found, but there was a policy that any employee who turned something in would essentially be tagged to that item. If it wasn't picked up in 90 days, the employee got to keep it."

"It was a theme park I worked at years ago, and I found someone's digital camera. Lots of family photos from what appeared to be their entire vacation. I felt bad once I was called to retrieve the camera due to it not being picked up."

"I went through every photo trying to find them. Thankfully, they took a photo of themselves in front of their church sign back home, and I was able to find the contact info for the church, send a couple of photos to confirm they were members, and send the remaining photos via Photobucket."

"They didn't want to ship the camera (international) because the camera wasn't worth much, but they got to keep their memories, and I didn't have to buy a camera."

- iheartyerface

The Possibilities Are Endless

"I worked in an old-fashioned hardware store that had a cardboard box for lost and found - mostly sunglasses, and nearly all were claimed."

"Most of our customers were repeat satisfied customers, but there was a partial denture that went unclaimed for about two years."

"We all thought of reasons, but the general consensus was that the teeth probably belonged to someone who had passed away or moved. Never claimed."

- Marischka77

Personal Like Family

"I worked at a donation center, and we received a strange-looking, totally sealed plastic container. I did some research, trying to price it for the floor, and realized it was a sealed cremation container."

"Turns out the family had donated the ashes of their grandpa, not knowing it was in the possessions of their recently deceased grandmother."

- TracewellEngine

Traveling By Plane Instead?

"There was a prosthetic leg in the lost and found at the Daytona Beach airport when I worked there."

- gunmedic15

"Having been to Daytona Beach shortly after 'bike week,' I can absolutely believe this."

- momofeveryone5

When You Can Just Buy Another One

"My dad did school trips for high school and college kids, mostly wealthy people, and, d**n, those kids left so much stuff behind..."

"LOADS of meds, mostly Adhd, anti-depressants, etc., and then there were the full makeup kits, some amazing CD and DVD collections; I discovered so many good bands."

"Lots of nice winter gear and snowboards. But sad once someone left their childhood blanket like one of those rag looking things.... she eventually claimed it and left a big tip, twas lovely."

- gyriffcat

The List Goes On And On

"A suitcase full of intimate items. A suitcase full of (thawing) elk meat. Cremains."

"The sad ones are backpacks of people who are trying to get on their feet, containing their rehab journals and supply of methadone."

"A Louis Vuitton duffle bag that they used as a diaper bag."

"A chainsaw. That passenger threw a fit when TSA wouldn't let them through with it. And yes, a full-on, crank it up, Jason-style chainsaw. Not a handheld saw."

- Malhablada

Full Identification

"Most personal? A wallet with $850 cash US, about another $200 in other currencies, an ID Card, a Green Card, and so many credit cards. We held on to it for two months and let the other areas' lost and found departments know we had it in case she called them. Never did come back for it."

"We weren't allowed to track or call customers for valuables. Did it once to be Good Samaritans, and one lady cussed us out and accused us of stealing her belongings because she wasn't the type to forget valuables like that. Why would we call you if we stole it? Really?"

"Fun stuff I got to take home after over a month: Chanel earrings, designer sunglasses, umbrellas, nice coats and jackets, designer perfumes, etc."

"Weird stuff I did not take home: walking canes, gold or silver grills, dentures..."

- hellothisisme825

A Luxury Scarf

"I managed a restaurant back in 2015 in Brooklyn. Lots of things were left behind, but one time someone left a Loro Piano scarf."

"I had no idea about it for like six months until we did a purge of items people never returned for. The scarf was really nice, pure cashmere. So I looked up the brand and realized it's like a $1,200 scarf."

"I took it home that day and still have it."

- smoretti713

Quick Change Of Plans

"Not quite the same thing, but I work at a courier company, and our lost property (when labels come off parcels) always gets lots of family photo albums and old wedding dresses, most are never claimed (we hold them for six months)."

- Nameisnotmine

"The wedding dresses going unclaimed makes sense. Those are time-sensitive items that presumably were replaced in a hurry when they got lost in transit, so there's no reason for anybody to come looking for them anymore."

- Furious_Mr_Bitter

Not A Lawn Ornament

"Police Department found property. An artificial leg was turned in as someone found it in their yard. No one ever claimed it."

"It was eventually sold or destroyed, I can't remember which."

"We posted it in the classifieds a couple times (yes, back when paper newspapers were alive and well), but had no luck returning it to its owner."

- Spark_Of_Brilliance

A Striking Resemblance

"My friend left his passport behind at a restaurant once. He went abroad to work for a few months and about a year later went back to the restaurant."

"The lady serving him was actually the manager and recognised him! They had kept his passport in the safe all of that time."

"No idea why they didn't contact him or the person on the passport contact list. But he'd obviously had to get the passport replaced."

- BiscuitCrumbsInBed

All Dogs Go To Heaven

"I once accidentally left my dog's ashes at TSA. The Lost and Found department went above and beyond and called my vet office because her cremation info was still in the velvet bag she came back to me in. I was able to recover them by calling in a favor to a friend in that city."

- BlitzkriegMop

Incredible Customer Service

"Not the same, but I used to work at a luxury wilderness lodge in the middle of a national park in Alaska. It was about a six-hour drive on the single road to get from the park entrance to our location. No private vehicles allowed, so we drove guests in and out on buses twice a week."

"One day, the bus driver radioed us to tell us a departing guest had left his wallet, they were already hours down the road. Sure enough, we found it in his cabin."

"We were friends with the guys who ran the only airstrip in the park, and they happened to be flying out that day, so we gave them a bunch of fresh baked goods in exchange for them taking the wallet with them to the park entrance."

"When the guest arrived at the park entrance that day, his wallet was waiting for him at the airstrip. Now that's (Alaska) customer service! He was really excited about it and mailed us an additional tip."

- potsieharris

A Question For The Ages

"I worked at a gym. The sheer AMOUNT of car keys that are just chilling in the lost and found area is ASTOUNDING."

"HOW DID THESE PEOPLE GET HOME?!?! I’m talking about more than 10 sets, y’all. It doesn’t make any sense."

- Chi-key_Chick

These Redditors truly went above and beyond with their strange finds, and even stranger guesses at why these items weren't picked up.

Perhaps the strangest thing about this is how many of these finds were body-part or mobility-related. From dentures to canes to ashes, it's hard to imagine how they'd be forgotten in the first place, let alone indefinitely left behind.