Arkansas’ Great Treasure Hunt | freshare.net

Arkansas’ Great Treasure Hunt

By Robert J. Korpella

First posted on 10-01-2008

Arkansas State Auditor Jim Wood has kicked off the state’s annual Great Treasure Hunt, a quest to find the owners of unclaimed property collected by the state.

Last year alone, Arkansas officials received $23 million in unclaimed property but the total amount held by the state is closer to $115 million. Wood said that 54,000 Arkansas residents have been added to the roll of people who have money or property they have not claimed.

The auditor’s office is tasked with collecting uncashed checks, as well as money from abandoned bank accounts and forgotten safe-deposit boxes. The coffers are full of unclaimed items like utility company deposits that need to be returned to customers, cash, even property items like jewelry, old coins as well as more intriguing property like an old parking ticket from 1957 or a handwritten note from former Arkansas football coach Lou Holtz.

The State Auditor’s office said the average payout amount is $600 and all it takes to find out if you might be one of the people who could collect, just call the auditor’s office at 1-800-CLAIM-IT or better yet, check out the website at: http://www.state.ar.us/auditor/unclprop/ .

Good hunting!