Lost but not yet found — Danville police searching for owners of forgotten items

Published 7:16 am Thursday, August 23, 2018

Chief Tony Gray says it’s amazing how many items have been turned into the police department that have been found on the streets of Danville. There are wallets, cell phones, keys, purses and backpacks — some found as long as nine months ago — just sitting there.

To try to get more of those lost things returned, Officer Hobie Daugherty decided to create a list to circulate to media outlets of the personal belongings the Danville Police Department has been put a name with.

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No — it’s not a phishing scheme to get people with warrants in to arrest them, Chief Gray says. He laughs, then says, “You wouldn’t believe the amount of people who have called in, asking that.”

Some have been found in parking lots, Gray says. A purse was left in a grocery basket; a backpack was found at a Boyle County football game …

“We probably get someone bringing in lost items at least once a week — no joke,” he says. “Just found and picked up somewhere in the streets of Danville.”

The list has been circulated on social media. It’s split into two categories: wallets and other items.

People don’t generally come in asking for recovered items, Gray says.

“They can’t come in and just say, ‘that green wallet is mine,’” he says. “We ask them questions about what’s in it, and they need to be able to identify contents and bring identification with them.”

Many of the wallets have bank or social security cards inside them, he says. Most of the time, the items are dropped off with the department’s records clerk.

“We are giving people through the month of September,” Gray says. But come Oct. 1, “We’re going to throw it away or put it in the auction surplus for the city.”

If you see your name on the list, you are asked to go the Danville Police Department in city hall to claim your item.

Wallets: Justin Tingle; Carey L. Mays Jr.; David Tarkington; Jolene Bell; Chad Warren; Daniel Martin; Michael Carey; Jesse Gregory; James Porter; Jarmey Bowles; Nafanielle Blevins; Gregory Morton; Justin Washington; Michael Robbins; Jordan Roggow; Logan Begley.

Other Items: Tyler Chumley; Constance Hazelbaker; Renata Penman; Jonetta McCaskill; Amy Carmicle; Stacy Devine; Christopher Grey II; Mallori McMaine; Roland Steadman; Daniel Johnson; Kathleen Long.