Hunt is on for owners of treasures
Posted on Wednesday, October 3, 2007
On a table next to many items of monetary value, including a container filled with more than a gallon of rough pearls, was a collection of photographs and other memorabilia embodying another form of wealth up for grabs in the Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt.
A decades-old photo of a boy kneeling next to his dog; a stack of marriage licenses (the top one listing the groom as John Cox ); and a photo of a couple straight out of American Gothic, with Kennett, Mo., its only caption, represented some of the memories that can be reclaimed.
At a news conference announcing this year’s version of the treasure hunt, state Auditor Jim Wood said that more than $ 21 million worth of unclaimed property, tied to 50, 000 people, was turned over to the state during fiscal year 2007.
In addition to the contents of closed safety-deposit boxes, Wood’s office is also responsible for collecting outstanding uncashed checks, as well as stocks, bonds and abandoned bank accounts.
Among other items on display in the Governor’s Conference Room at the state Capitol were watches, rings, coins of various types, including three commemorative coins for Apollo missions 8, 9, and 10, silver candlesticks and a conical ceramic object that could have served any number of purposes but whose primary use no one at the gathering knew for certain.
Items ranged from the mundane to the bizarre.
“We have two sets of [cremated ] human remains,” Wood said. “Of course, we tried to locate the families, but we couldn’t track them down.”
The center piece of the display could come from a scene right out of Pirates of the Caribbean, a con- tainer with a few pounds of pearls, many of them looking like baby teeth, with a brass chalice sitting on top.
Wood dipped his hand into a collection of pearls, letting them fall between his fingers like sand.
“Most of these are industrialquality,” he said. “But a few like this,” he said, holding up a tearshaped stone, “would make nice drop earrings.”
Wood said the pearls came from a safe-deposit box in Russellville. He speculated that the former owner of the collection was a diver.
Arkansans can search the catalog of unclaimed items by visiting the Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt Web site, www. auditorjimwood. org, or by calling (800 ) 252-4648.
Safe-deposit boxes with no activity in five years — either no rent paid or no one opening the box — are turned over to the state auditor’s unclaimed-property division.
To claim property, a notarized form listing personal information must be submitted with attached proof of ownership. Heirs trying to claim estate property can submit a death certificate and show they’re entitled to the property, Wood said.
There is no charge for the service.
The program began in 1979 and was originally run by the state Department of Finance and Administration. The state auditor took over the program in 1985.
“Since the Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt began, our office has returned almost $ 50. 5 million to the people of Arkansas,” Wood said. `
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