Lost & Found Services in Wyoming
Discover how to report or find lost items across major cities in Wyoming. We help you connect with local services, transportation hubs, and more.
Most Populated Cities in Wyoming
How Lost & Found Works in Wyoming
Wyoming does not have one statewide law that tells finders exactly what to do with a lost wallet, phone, or bag. Unlike the roughly twenty states that have enacted dedicated lost and found statutes, Wyoming leaves most of that ground to common law, its theft statute, and whatever policy the local police department or city has adopted. Knowingly keeping something you know belongs to someone else can still expose you to a theft charge under Wyo. Stat. § 6-3-402, but there is no single Title 34 section that spells out a turn-in duty or a statewide holding period for personal property found on the street or in a business.
What exists instead is a patchwork. Some cities, like Cody, have codified a holding period in their municipal code for lost or abandoned property that ends up in city possession. Other departments, like Casper Police, publish their own found property policy with their own minimum listing period before items go to auction or disposal. Wyoming's separate Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, run through the State Treasurer's office, mainly handles abandoned financial property such as uncashed checks and forgotten accounts, not the phone you left at a Jackson Hole restaurant or the backpack left behind at a Yellowstone trailhead. ReportLost is an independent service. A free report creates a public listing; paid options add public-web monitoring, and the $25 team-assisted option also includes relevant local outreach. Agencies and venues set their own filing and holding procedures.
What the Law Says in Wyoming
Wyoming's general theft statute makes it a crime to knowingly take, obtain, retain, or exercise control over property that belongs to someone else without authorization. Wyoming courts and prosecutors can apply this to a finder who knows an item is not theirs and decides to keep it rather than try to locate the owner or turn it in, even though there is no separate lost property statute spelling out the finder's duty step by step.
Wyoming is among the states without its own lost and found law comparable to what some other states have enacted. There is no single section of Title 34 that requires a finder to report a found wallet or bag to police, publish a notice, or wait a fixed number of days before treating unclaimed lost property as their own. In practice this means common law principles, the theft statute, and local rules fill the gap.
Because state law is silent, individual departments and cities decide how long they hold found property before disposing of it. Casper Police, for example, keep listed found items for a minimum period before releasing them for auction or disposal. Cody's municipal code separately provides that abandoned, lost, stolen, or unclaimed property in the city's possession for 90 days without a claim can be disposed of. Other Wyoming cities, including Cheyenne, Jackson, and Laramie, run their own property and evidence units with their own intake and hold procedures, so the exact timeline depends entirely on which department is holding your item.
Wyoming's Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, administered by the State Treasurer's office, requires holders of abandoned financial property, such as uncashed checks, dormant accounts, or credit memos, to send due diligence notices for amounts of $50 or more and file an annual report by November 1. This statute governs money and intangible property held by businesses and institutions, not personal items like keys, luggage, or electronics lost in public and found by another person, so it runs on a completely different track from everyday lost and found cases.
Where items end up in Wyoming
Wyoming's biggest lost and found flows run through its airports, including Jackson Hole Airport, Cheyenne Regional Airport, Casper-Natrona County International Airport, and Gillette-Campbell County Airport, along with the visitor centers and ranger stations at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, which see enormous numbers of items left on shuttles, trails, and in lodges each season. City police departments in Cheyenne, Casper, Jackson, and Laramie each run their own property and evidence units, and venues like the University of Wyoming, ski resorts such as Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, and casinos and hotels across the state keep their own found item logs. The city pages below list local contacts. ReportLost is independent; its free public listing, six-month automatic monitoring and twelve-month team-assisted option are described on the report form.
Lost something in Wyoming?
A free report creates a public listing. The $12 option adds six months of automatic monitoring, a ReportLost certificate, an anonymous case address, and QR stickers. The $25 option adds manual research, direct service contact, report submission, local social sharing, and 12 months of monitoring.
Report my lost item →Wyoming Lost & Found FAQ
Do I get my item back if someone turned it in?
Yes, if you can prove it is yours. Most Wyoming departments and venues ask for a description plus one private verification detail, such as a passcode, a specific photo stored on the device, or the serial number, before releasing an item to you.
Is a reward mandatory in Wyoming?
No. Wyoming has no statute requiring a reward for returned property. Offering one is always your choice, and many people recover items with no reward at all through the police department, airport, or venue that has it.
How long will a Wyoming police department hold my found item before disposing of it?
It depends on the department. Casper Police, for example, keep found items listed for a minimum period before releasing them for auction, and some cities like Cody codify a 90 day holding window for abandoned or unclaimed property in city custody. There is no single statewide deadline, so check with the specific department holding your item.
Is it illegal to keep something I found in Wyoming?
It can be. Wyoming does not have a specific lost property statute, but if you knowingly keep an item you know belongs to someone else and make no reasonable effort to find or return it to the owner, that can fall under the state's general theft statute, Wyo. Stat. § 6-3-402.
Does Wyoming have one law that covers lost and found statewide?
No. Wyoming has not enacted a dedicated lost and found statute like some other states. Instead, common law principles, the state theft statute, and individual police department or city ordinance policies fill that role, which is why procedures can differ from Cheyenne to Jackson to Casper.
This page provides general information about Wyoming law as of publication and is not legal advice. Procedures vary by city and department, verify details with your local authorities. Last reviewed: July 2026.
All Cities We Cover in Wyoming
Each city page lists the local lost & found contacts and how to report a loss there.