Thousands of items left behind at TSA ‘Lost and Found’

By: News Staff

Email: news@abc6.com

Twitter: @ABC6

WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) — Laptops, keys, diamond rings, and even a stuffed parrot all left behind at T.F. Green over the past month by people in a hurry to make their flight.

Have you ever wondered where your items end up and how to get them back before it is too late?

ABC6 News went inside the TSA’s secret room on Thursday to find out.

We all know that a trip to the airport can be stressful. Whether you are rushing through security to catch your flight or simply not paying enough attention. However, thousands of items are left behind each year.

“This is the lost and found, we keep it locked and these are the items they left and we weren’t able to reunite them with before they got on their flight,” said the spokesman for the TSA at T.F. Green, Michael McCarthy.

McCarthy says this year alone 22,000 items have been forgotten including laptops, jewelry, and stuffed animals.

“This is probably really highly valuable to the child who left it behind,” said McCarthy.

TSA stores everything inside a locker, but if someone does not come forward within 30 days, it is shipped off to New Hampshire.

“And we end up auctioning a lot of it off,” said McCarthy.

The biggest challenge is trying to reunite unlabeled items with their owners.

“If you have a laptop or a tablet tape a business card to it or put your name and number on it,” explained McCarthy.

McCarthy says they have seen it all. Recently, they came across a big envelope of cash.

“They ended up calling Lost and Found, they got routed here, and we said: ‘yeah, we actually just found it. How much was it?’”

However, the most unusual find is also among the most common: Shoes are left behind almost every day.

Laptops get special treatment. If they are not claimed they are sent to Washington, D.C. to be wiped clean and then recycled.

©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2017