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SALT LAKE CITY — When you're rushing at the airport, you can easily lose track of your things. But what happens to those lost items, and how can you get them back?
Most people don't realize there's even a lost and found inside the airport. Only about 28% of lost items are returned to their owner, and some of the finds are interesting.
Jaxson Huefner a customer service representative for the airport walked inside the lost and found storage room.
In the last year, more than 5,100 articles of clothing, 4,700 pairs of eyeglasses, 4,300 computers and electronics and nearly 2,000 bags have ended up here.
"You've got coats, hats," Huefner said. "You've got like fishing poles, canes, crutches. Little kid space helmet. A pressure washer I think is what we figured out what this was or a generator."
Throw in some watches and bottles of cologne, but one item really stood out.
"We got a taxidermy rat!" said Nancy Anthon, airport operations manager of customer service at the Salt Lake City International Airport.
Every morning, Huefner receives a new batch of lost stuff. He logs them, takes a picture, and posts it on the airport website.
Sometimes, there's a match.
"We had a wedding ring that was worth about $10,000 or $15,000 that we were able to reunite with the bride."
A woman left her Kindle at the airport Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning, Huefner tracked it down.
If no one claims items like clothing, they're donated to a local shelter. They'll keep expensive stuff like laptops a little longer, and everything else is shipped out for auction.
It's a process Huefner finds rewarding — when lost items make their way back to their rightful owner.
"That's why we log everything," Huefner said. "You never know what's going to be a gold mine to someone else."
It's free to file a claim for a lost item on the airport website.
The airport will never charge you — so beware of scam websites requesting you pay a fee.
