SALT LAKE CITY — Items you may have left behind at the Salt Lake City International Airport may not be lost forever.
Every year, thousands of items find their way to the facility’s lost and found.
“People can lose things all day, throughout the day,” said Melissa Royle, the supervisor of the lost and found department.
In her two years in the role, she’s seen some unique items.
“We had the taxidermy rat, we’ll get giant bags full of tools, we’ll get bags that have thousands of dollars of cash in them,” she described. “It all shocked me. Not so much anymore.”
The airport’s lost and found includes items left behind at the security screening area, terminal buildings and even the parking lot shuttles.
It does not include lost or unclaimed baggage or items left on airplanes – those things are handled by the airlines.
Everything the airport finds is documented and displayed on a website where people looking for an item can search and file a claim.
Once verified, the lost and found will ship the item to its owner if the owner covers the shipping costs.
Some special reunions have happened thanks to the efforts of the lost and found department, especially for one man who lost a special watch.
“He was really distraught. He had lost it and said it was a lot like losing his wedding ring,” Royle said. “Thankfully we were able to retrieve that from TSA screening.”
Stories like that make the job worthwhile for Royle.
“I always say it’s almost like being a detective here trying to find the right people and reunite people with their stuff,” she said.
Items waiting to be claimed remain at the lost and found for at least 30 days.