Lost & Found

8,000 lost items up for auction at PIT Airport

Items left behind at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) make their way to the lost and found, where they are held onto for 30 days.

And if no one claims the lost item, it’s a good bet it will show up in the Allegheny County Airport Authority’s (ACAA) annual auction, an event that’s been held annually since 2011.

This year’s auction is scheduled for Saturday, October 22 and there will be more than 8,000 items up for grabs. The rolling stock and cars can be bid for online, but for everything else, you’ll need to be there in person.

PIT officials say this year’s list features 300 pieces of electronics ranging from computers to Kindles, as well as musical instruments, including a Yamaha flute and a mandolin, Apple watches galore, and more than 350 bracelets, rings, and necklaces.

Over the past year, passengers also left behind sports helmets with GoPro cameras, a security surveillance system, a baker’s rolling pin and apron, flippers, and goggles. There’s a rice maker on the list, along with car seats, a Canon camera, an Alienware game system, and golf clubs.

On Saturday it will all be up for auction.

And it’s not just stuff. There will also be cars up for sale.

If the airport can’t find the owner of a car left too long at the airport, it becomes abandoned property and goes into the auction pool.

This year there are 11 cars in the pool, including a Sonata, two Honda Civics, and a Nissa Ultima.

Who gets the auction money?

Proceeds from the auction of left behind items go to the ACAA Charitable Foundation, which helps support PIT’s Art in the Airport program as well as aviation scholarships and workforce development. Last year, the auction raised more than $75,000 for the foundation.

For bidders, there will be a 15 percent buyer’s premium with 5 percent waived for cash or check purchases. Cash, checks, and credit cards will be accepted. Find details on the auction location and instructions for bidding here.

Gary Gatwick’s Underground Adventure

The Stuck at the Airport adventure team traveled in and around London with Gatwick Airport’s mascot, Gary Gatwick, last week.

Our assignment: discover how easy it is to use Gatwick Airport as a base when visiting the region.

We traveled by train and underground to visit attractions in central London, the Brighton seaside, and the historic West Sussex towns of Arundel, and Amberly

Every stop was an educational adventure and Gary Gatwick was a perfect host and guide.

But one trip on the underground turned into a lesson about the kindness and professionalism of the people who work for Transport for London.

Because Gary Gatwick somehow got left behind at the Farringdon station.

It took about 10 stops to realize Gary Gatwick was missing.

We were, of course, horrified that he’d been left behind.

And we weren’t confident we’d be reunited.

He was traveling in our small blue backpack and, honestly, our experience with public transport in other cities led us to assume that the backpack would be taken by another passenger, thrown out, or, worse, treated as a suspicious, unattended package and blown up!

But none of that happened.

While helpful station attendants at another station made calls to the Farringdon station on our behalf to inquire about our lost item, our little backpack was found and turned in to the lost property office at the station.

This customer service supervisor recognized Gary Gatwick, took good care of him, and logged his visit into the records.

When we finally made our way back to the Farringdon station and asked to be directed to the supervisor’s office, everyone on duty knew just who we were.

“Oh, you’re the people looking for the bear! Go that way.”

We took a bit of ribbing, but once we signed for our lost property we were back on our way.

The London Underground, like most other public transit networks, is a sprawling system. And, clutching Gary Gatwick close so we didn’t lose him again, we thought we’d just melt back into the sea of passengers.

But when we got back to the station platform we encountered Kevin.

He’s the Transport for London employee who had found Gary Gatwick on the platform and he’s the one who made sure Gary was safe.

Kevin seemed genuinely glad to see us reunited with Gary Gatwick and we’ve declared him our hero!

(Stuffed) tiger tours Tampa International Airport

First it was Princess Kitty.

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A few weeks back, the Lost & Found department at Denver International gave a stuffed animal named Princess Kitty the royal treatment and a tour of the airport before reuniting the toy with its young owner.

Now a stuffed tiger named Hobbes – left behind at Tampa International – has plenty of tales to tell.

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Earlier this month, the TPA Lost and Found Department got a frantic call from the mom of a 6-year-old boy named Owen who had left his toy behind when the family flew off to Houston.

A janitorial crew at the airport found Hobbes and Tony D’Aiuto, the airport operations center manager, decided to take the toy on an adventure.

Hobbes certainly had a great time.

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Photos on the airport’s website – and in the book D’Aiuto had put together overnight at a local Walgreens – show Hobbes at the gelato counter, playing Jenga in the USO, visiting the airport fire department and the air traffic control tower, learning about airport operations and checking into the airport Marriott.

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Owen and his family came to retrieve Hobbs when they got back from trip and were presented with the photo book of the tiger’s adventures.

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“It cost just $16 to make the book and a couple of hours of my time,” said D’Aiuto, “and if there’s ever an opportunity like this when we know we’ll be able to reunite a toy with its owner, I’d love to do it again.”

(All photos courtesy Tampa International Airport. A slightly difference version of my story about the lost tiger first appeared on USA TODAY)

Denver Airport saves Princess Kitty

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An almost-too-cute story about how the Lost & Found department at Denver International Airport rescued a stuffed animal named Princess Kitty is making the rounds.

Both Sonja Wieck and her 9-year-old daughter, Annie, were devasted when they realized Annie had left the beloved and well-traveled Princess Kitty on a DEN Airport tram.

Wieck sent a tweet to the airport asking for help and the airport staff not only found the stuffed animal but gave it a tour of the airport and the attention that a princess deserves.

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(All photos courtesy Denver International Airport)