Lost and Found in St Louis
11 Feb 2007
Certainly we've all felt it ... that small twinge of discomfort, as we realize we've misplaced something. The search begins and gains in momentum as it fails to bear any fruit, until it finally ends in a sort of panic, as the truth becomes obvious: no amount of searching will bring your lost item back-it's really gone. With any luck, whatever you have lost will end up found by a good Samaritan, and your search will end happily.
Everyone has felt this at some point. From misplacing your keys and tearing the house upside down for hours, only to realize that you've left them in the refrigerator. According to management in some hotels, parks, and stadiums in St. Louis, the most commonly found items that end up in the lost and found bin, include gloves (single ones, usually), cell phones, glasses, billfolds, and tech accessories. Cell phone chargers are quite high on the list, and at the Adam's Mark hotel in St. Louis, even have their own private lost and found bin. They are so commonly lost, that the hotel has installed a new policy: forgot your charger, or lost it? Then choose one from the lost and found bin and be on your way ... there will certainly be another coming in soon to replace it.
A good Samaritan is not necessarily always wanted, according to the policies at the Clayton Hotel in St. Louis. For this hotel, privacy comes first. The hotel does not track down former guests in an attempt to reunite them with their lost and found items, having had experiences where guests were staying in the hotel unknown to wives, husbands, and bosses, and trying to return lost and found items, turned into trouble for the guests.
Police and Metro officers tell stories of wheelchairs, hubcaps, teddy bears, plastic arms and legs, and even babies being lost on trains and buses. Some items can be placed in the lost and found bin, but babies, certainly cannot. They are taken into custody by the police.
Clothes are another popular item to end up in the lost and found bin, and if unclaimed, usually go to Goodwill or other charities.
The lost and found bin also is subject to the elements, and scheduled events. When there is rain, umbrellas and rain coats turn up. When there is snow, gloves and hats populate the lost and found bin.
In many hotels, adult toys usually tend to remain unclaimed and may sit in the lost and found bin for quite some time, although most hotel managers usually remain fairly tight-lipped regarding these items.
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