How can I return this bag to its rightful owner? for Questionland Seattle

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How can I return this bag to its rightful owner?

tl;dr version: I have someone's name and lost property, but can't find a way to contact them. What should I do next?

A while ago, a backpack showed up in my apartment. I thought it belonged to my partner for months and only recently realized it wasn't his. I asked friends who had visited my apartment, but none of them were missing a backpack.

I looked inside the bag and realized that it belongs to someone I don't know. Based on some information inside, I think someone accidentally picked up a bag on the way out of a taxi. I have the owner's ID, but it doesn't include any information about where he works. The only people I can find online with his name are in different states or countries.

I looked up some likely taxi companies and found one with his last name in the right area. The person I spoke to on the phone seemed to have a VERY hard time understanding what I was saying. At first this person said he didn't know Mystery Bag Owner, then he said he did, then he took my name and number, then he asked me when I lost my bag... he said he'd pass my number along to Mystery Owner, but I haven't received any calls.

There are some items in this bag that really need to get back to their owner ASAP. Should I turn it over to the police? Keep trying to locate the owner? I really want this dude to get his stuff back, but I can't find his contact info!

IsadoraWing asked in Whatever 3 months ago | Report

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Russ Campbell, NWEBS

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Without knowing the exact taxi company and the day of travel it may be pretty difficult to track back details to a particular trip. However, if you really suspect that this was the origin and then you may want to contact the appropriate office at Seatac airport to see if a lost property report was made there:
http://www.portseattle.org/sea-tac/passenger-services/pages/lost-and-found.aspx
Ask for advice there on finding other lost report lists through the various taxi companies.

I assume you have been pretty thorough in looking through the contents of the bag for leads in tracking this person down. Look again and be very complete in searching for any addresses, phone numbers, business cards, receipts, references for appointments, mail. Even a serial numbered electronic device or other expensive item might be tracked back to the registered owner by contacting the manufacturer.

Some thoughts:
Prescription medications can be tracked back to the exact person by the pharmacy.

If there is a library book, head there and have them look up the person's contact information and they can call him (without releasing the info to you).

Perchance, if there is a laptop inside I would suggest making a sign to hold up in front of it (pin to your shirt while you use it) stating something like "I found your backpack and want to return it to you, call 555-1212", just in case there is a tracking program installed that uses the onboard camera when powered up. Then, of course, try locating the owner's email address by looking at incoming/outgoing mail. If not available then look at created files for leads.

Here is the link for WA law concerning lost and found property which outlines the procedure for being within the law for claiming found property - which will give you the details for how to go about seeking the original owner under the law.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=63.21&full=true

I would say you have no problems as far as how you came into possession of the bag, but the clock started on your efforts to find the owner in a timely manner once you figured out it did not belong in your home. There is no downside in going to the police and reporting it but I think you may be more motivated to seek the owner then they may be if you just turn it in.

You could always GET JESSE:
http://www.king5.com/on-tv/contact/64675492.html
They might have some advice and contacts if they are not interested in the story.

Russ Campbell, NWEBS answered in Whatever 3 months ago | Report

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Something doesn't add up here. In fact, more than one or two things...

First, you don't know how it showed up in your apartment. (Very suspicous)

Second, you track down someone who may or may not know what you're talking about. (Very suspicous)

Third, they obscur and confuse the conversation by misunderstanding (Intentionally?)

Fourth, you say there are some items that they REALLY need back. (Drugs? Medicines?)

I vote for calling in the police and washing your hands of the whole thing. You've done MORE than your fair share in trying to return or contact the owner. Now get quit of it.

O my captain answered in Whatever 3 months ago | Report

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The items that need to go back don't have much monetary value, but they are important to their owner (a very old digital camera with baby pictures on it, legal and financial documents, a credit card reader of the sort a taxi driver would need to run a business, an older model GPS, etc). The conversation with the dispatcher was indeed suspicious, but I suspect that was because English was not his native language and he was used to getting calls about people who had left bags in taxis instead of mistakenly taken the wrong bag.

I'm going to follow Russ's advice, and if that doesn't work I'll turn the bag over to the police. I suspect that the owner may have left the country; the taxi driver's license I found is now expired, which might mean his visa has expired too (his is not a common American name and he's not in the phone book). I would like this dude to at least get his baby pictures and legal documents back, which might not happen if he isn't a citizen and I give the bag to the police.

I don't think anyone I know would have intentionally stolen the bag, and if they did, they wouldn't have left it in my apartment.

IsadoraWing commented 3 months ago | Report

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