Laura Gonzalez, Spring 2009 Assistant Managing Editor
Backpack? Check. Books? Check. IPod? check. Car keys?…
Losing personal items can be frustrating and sometimes even unbearable, but nothing can be as bad as losing car keys, which is one of the most common objects found in the lost and found closet of the Pierce College sheriff’s office. Pretty much everyone has lost their car keys and had to get some replacement car keys at least once in their lifetime. No one likes losing their belongings, particularly car keys!
There is an entire closet dedicated to storing items that students leave behind. Clothes, cell phones, books, glasses and even laptops are brought daily to the sheriff’s office where they stay until their faithful owners come to the rescue.
“Before [the item] is returned to the student or the civilian, whoever lost their item, we have to first verify that it is theirs, usually by description,” said deputy Al Guerrero. “Having a name on it or their driver’s license in there generally works pretty good.”
The college library has its own lost and found box where they usually put identifications that are left there, but if they find something of value, they turn it in to the sheriff’s office.
“If a student loses something that is a big deal, like a cell phone or a laptop, we would bring it to the sheriff’s office, especially if it hasn’t been claimed for days,” said Toni Ferrer, library clerk and student.
The officers try to find the owners of any lost items. If the item has a name, it is searched in the college Web site and then they locate the individual by pulling up their class schedule and their contact information. But most of the items do not have any names on them.
Guerrero insists students mark their personal items with their names to be able to make it easy to return once the item has been found. He also urges students to return any item they find that does not belong to them.
“The main problem we have is that a lot of stuff has been lost but not a lot of stuff has been turned in,” Guerrero said.
Many students do not know there is a lost and found closet in the sheriff’s office.
Items in the lost and found closet are kept there for 60 days. After the grace period has passed, items are sent to the main station in Whittier, Calif., where they are destroyed.
“How would you like somebody to handle your stuff when you lose it? You’d like to have it turned in,” Guerrero said. “So, if you find something and you know is not yours, turn it in because there is somebody looking for it.”