Returning found items

[Lowbatts]

Can I get some input on what and how people return recoveries to their owners? Nameless and un-inscribed objects - is there a limit to your efforts? I have gotten more than a few phone calls from people who can describe items I've put in the local lost-n-found in the following terms:
1. It's gold, round and has a hole in it.
2. I forget, did it have a big diamond or ruby or something like that on it?
3. Yeah, if the one you found was white gold or yellow gold, that's it!
4. Of course I can describe it, it's a gold bracelet that fits on your wrist.
5. You better give it to me or I'll call the police. (On this one I told the person to meet me at the police station, guess which one of us actually showed up there? I hate being stood up!)

I look for posted lost notices in the parks where I hunt and the local lost-n-found pages but never see anything related to my finds. I have been asked by people in the park to recover items, the most common request being for childrens jewelry, my most common find. Only one success with that and that was probably because it had just been lost.

Do you have similar experiences? Where do you draw the lines for returning lost goodies?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[Thonolan]

If doesn't have a name inscribed on it, and if isn't a class ring with initials, date or school name on it, then I make no attempt to find the owner. There's just no way to return anything else.

Of course, if someone were to describe an item before I found it or if they decribed in detail something that I had already found, I would gladly give it to them.

 

[geatley]

Have returned one ring out of five and that was a class ring with three intials. Went through the school to track it down. Great discription by the person convinced me. Have had the police ask me to look out for a certain ring. Never did find it. Would probly give it back to police to handle. I live in a small town with about 10 cops know them all.
Otherwise I don't even try to return an item that has no identifying marks.
Suppose if it was unique and the "owner" of jewlery store they purchased it from gave a great discription I would turn it over.

 

[lab rat]

I've had a few returns-- usually the person who lost it knew right about where they lost it, gave a good description, and I usually found it in under a minute. Otherwise, forget it-- if it takes longer than that, it could be ANYwhere. I still have a class ring that was totally crushed and destroyed-- hardly worth the effort; and a number of unrelated phone calls whenever I listed in the paper (which I don't do anymore).

The worst experience was when I hunted in a specific area, missed 6 silver rings dropped there, and a girl asked me a minute later if I had found her rings. I asked her to describe them, which she did, and I went back and found all six rings very close together. She didn't even say 'thank you'!

 

[dneyedli@res1.mts.net]

Lab Rat, in response to the"didn't even say thankyou", that's happened to me before and if I didn't react to anger, I ended up finding a real good find. A good deed gets rewarded even if it's not acknowledged. What goes around comes around. I only return the obvious(same as Thonolan's post).
DAVE.

 

[lab rat]

I hear you!

I neglected to say that those finds returned within a few minutes were all from the beaches, not park finds.

There is another story-- I was asked by a 'desparate' person to find his wedding band, and he had a good idea where he lost it. He offered $20 reward, which I accepted in good faith. I found the ring after searching about 3 feet from where he thought it was-- my sand scoop lit up like a firecracker! The thing was covered with diamonds; a nice channel setting with about 14 10-pt diamonds all around it. The fellow handed me a wad of bills and we parted ways. On counting it, I found he had given me $19! Maybe I was too eager to accept the reward...

 

[Hoser John]

Read the lost and found in your local paper.If it's a real dazzler I've turned them into local cops who keep for 30-90- days and then yours legally.I've got a couple of great $100+ rewards but ended up with some righteous jewelry legally mine.PS don't forget to get a receipt for the jewelry-things disappear at the pd.Tons a au 2 ya 2-John

 

[Lowbatts]

Been there!

Hey Labrat, I had a young man tell me he lost his money clip with several hundred dollars at a woodchip playground, he'd be willing to split it with me! Of course upon arrival at that playground I started detecting.

A lady came up and told me she had lost her money clip there with 240 dollars in it, and she did not offer a reward. When the young man arrived, it turned out he was her nephew. Blood is thinner than money...

I did not find it, just got some clad and junk. I also did not confront anyone with the contradictions. Just threw up the arms, took a bit of cajoling from the neighborhood hecklers and left. Normally I would only go to that playground early AM when the locals are passed out or awaiting bail but there was that good deed angle.

 

[coinshooter]

I was hunting the other day at the beach when a guy approached me and asked me to come look for "something" for him. It was a long walk back there and just from where I had been and I was headed the other way, so I said "no". I told him there were plenty of others on the beach with detectors at that point and he should go ask one of them. Usually I will go and look, but I was there to hunt and my time was valuable (since I only get out to hunt when my wife and child are doing something). After a little bit more pleading he said he would pay me to come look since it was his car key. I thought to myself, that if it was my car key I would be bummed if I lost it , so I took the long walk back with him to where he lost it. As I was hunting he whispered to his friends. I suspect he was telling them that he offered to pay me. They shook their heads and the next thing I know they were all shuffling away and saying "well, thanks, don't bother, we'll just go and get one made". I was pissed because they dragged me all the way back down the beach and then stiffed me to boot!
I wouldn't of cared if they had given me a dollar, but the fact that the guy offered and I accepted and then he stiffed me speaks volumes for the quality of people who are out there. This is why I generally just don't hunt for folks. I have considered the idea of asking for $ up front just to weed out the less serious ones, but just don't feel quite right about this (yet). When I am doing someone a favor and they offer to pay me and I accept on those terms, then at least compensate me for my effort and time. This may sound greedy, but I am just operating from the same thing I would do if I lost a ring or something of value. I have been stiffed by people after spending 30 mins of my time looking for their earring, etc. I just got tired of it, so unless it is something of more sentimental value or something huge that can be found easy (like a cell phone), or a large diamond ring (where I know they would be appreciative), I won't look anymore. Call me what you will, but I just don't see a lot of appreciation anymore from folks who should be way more appreciative when we find things for them. Most of the time, it's just being hassled by some drunk kid for finding a penny too close to them. In this case, I just threw it at him and told him to go have another beer.
As far as returns go, when I started out, I used to make an effort to find the owners, then as I have hunted more, my attitude has changed. If it's not marked, or can't be described to the tee, then it's "sorry, must not be yours". I usually scan the Lost and Found pages of the paper if I find something nice. I figure the onus is on the people who lost it if they want it back, but if it has some identifiable markings and is valuable, then I would try and return it. After hunting around rude people, it has really given me a jaded perspective towards hunting for their items.

 

[lab rat]

I know a guy who charges a 'flat fee' of $50 to go look for stuff. Sometimes he gets it, too. He'll leave his business card at lifeguard stations. But he doesn't go out of his way to return stuff otherwise-- One time he did, by posting an ad in the paper and getting a matching description. He was promised a 'nice reward', so drove 25 miles to the girl's house. When he got there she only gave him $2. He didn't see much value in that.

I may get a t-shirt printed with:

'Any question answered-- $10, any item found $50, payable in advance'

:lol:

 

[Fred]

I had though o get a sign or t-shirt made up saying something like "If you don't have an intellegent question to ask,go away!" But a mite more forceful if you get my drift.lol Fred

 

[coinshooter]

T shirts I like and should make would include these. Any others you can think of?

How about "Warning! Stay back at least 300 feet!"
or

"This machine puts out IONIC PULSE INDUCTION RADIATION FREQUENCIES. Please stay back at least ten feet to avoid radiation burns."

or

"What have I found? A Rolex, a huge gold ring with a 3 ct diamond solataire and 25 surrounding diamonds, three $20 gold pieces, six gold chains, twenty five watches, and also that people will believe anything."

or

"Don't speak to me unless you have $ to put up front. All questions answered for a fee."