Lost & Found Services in West Virginia

West Virginia has not enacted a dedicated lost and found statute that tells a finder exactly how long to hold an item or when to turn it over. Instead, common law duties to make reasonable efforts to locate an owner apply, and the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, West Virginia Code Chapter 36, Article 8, governs what happens once property or money is reported as unclaimed to the state.

State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies in West Virginia are required by law to file an unclaimed property report with the West Virginia State Treasurer's Office when property they are holding, including recovered stolen or found items, goes unclaimed, rather than keeping it indefinitely at the department.

Under West Virginia Code Section 36-8-2, most property categories are presumed abandoned three years after the owner's right to demand it arises, and holders must file their annual report of property valued at fifty dollars or more before November 1 each year. Property from a safe deposit box cannot be turned over to the state until 120 days after that report is filed, which gives owners a window to reclaim items before they move further into the unclaimed property system.

Once property is reported and held by the West Virginia State Treasurer's Office, there is no time limit for the original owner to file a claim, the office holds unclaimed property in a custodial capacity until the rightful owner or heir comes forward.

West Virginia Code Section 61-3-13 makes simple larceny of goods valued at $1,000 or more a felony, grand larceny. Someone who finds property, identifies the owner, and knowingly keeps it anyway can face exposure under this statute or its lesser degree for lower value items, which is one reason most departments and venues push found items into a formal lost and found process rather than letting a finder simply keep them.