Look at lost and found uncovers finders, keepers, losers and weepers

ST. LOUIS -- A wedding dress was found on a conference table at City Museum. A half slip and high heels turned up at America's Center. A child's tooth in a baggie -- including money from the Tooth Fairy -- was left behind at the St. Louis Zoo.

Welcome to the world of lost and found, where everyone has been a finder, keeper, loser or weeper.

Cell phones, wallets, sunglasses and single gloves tend to be the items turned in most frequently to lost-and-found counters in hotels, restaurants, parks and stadiums. Getting a handle on exactly how many items are classified as lost or found nationally is, well, a lost cause. It's a fluid part of life. As soon as one item is lost, another is found.

Hotel guests seem to keep a good grip on their cell phones, or quickly realize they've left them behind before getting too far. However, cell phone chargers are now among the most common items guests leave in hotel rooms after checking out.

At the Adam's Mark hotel downtown, guests who forget to pack their chargers need not worry. They can choose from a stash left unclaimed.

A flask was packed away Jan 25 in the St. Louis Adam's Mark lost and found storeroom waiting for the owner to call for it.

"People are traveling and tend to forget them so we'll help them out. It doesn't make sense to get rid of them," said Gary Stacey, the hotel's security director.

Most unclaimed items, especially clothes, end up going to a charity such as Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

At the Ritz-Carlton, however, the finder is the keeper of unclaimed items. After cell phone chargers and cell phones, the most common items left behind are cuff links, earrings -- and wedding bands. If an item is forgotten at the upscale Clayton hotel, employees are instructed not to try to track down the owner.

"We may be calling you and maybe somebody picks up the phone that is not supposed to know you were staying at the hotel," explains general manager Erich Steinbock. "It's a privacy issue we have when you stay with us. Over the years, we've gained that experience."

If a guest does realize an item is left behind and calls the hotel, "we ship the item immediately for no charge," Steinbock said.

In some cases, the Ritz does more than complimentary shipping. Take the forgotten teddy bear.

When the family got home and found their young child's stuffed animal missing, there was panic.

"We got him in the laundry, cleaned him up real good, and wrote a letter from the bear," Steinbock said. "It said: 'Sorry to take so long, I was taking in the sights of the city: the Arch, the Zoo. I'm happy to be with you again.' We got a wonderful letter back from them."

At places that attract tourists, such as the St. Louis Science Center, digital cameras are a common lost item. And there was the engagement ring.

"A frantic husband-to-be came to claim it," said Chris Files, the center's marketing manager. "We like to think we saved a marriage before it started."

At Lambert Field, more than 1,100 items were logged as lost last year. Officer Hiram Blois makes it his mission to reunite item with owner.

Lambert police Chief Paul Mason tells of the time in late 2005 that a video camera was turned in. Blois viewed the cassette inside and saw that it was a video of a Brownie Girl Scout troop. He took down the troop number, called the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., got in touch with the troop leader and eventually the camera was back with its owner.

The weather often has a bearing on what is left behind. When President George W. Bush was at the Gateway Center in Collinsville two years ago, the forecast was rain. As a result, the lost and found was full of umbrellas.

Riders of MetroLink and Metro buses leave their share of items behind. Among the more unusual include hubcaps, wheelchairs and babies. Yes, babies.

"Police are called immediately to take custody," said Metro spokeswoman Dianne Williams. Prosthetic limbs also have been left behind. Usually, it's a spare limb being transported to be fitted, she said.

The items most commonly left behind include baseball gloves, umbrellas and Cardinals clothing.

"We did have someone turn in their own set of keys," said operations assistant Ashleigh Middlebrook. "We had a big TV turned in. We assume they were watching the game." The television never was claimed.

Neither was the slip nor the high heels that made their way to the lost-and-found pile at America's Center. The baggie with tooth and money at the Zoo also went unclaimed. But the wedding dress at City Museum is back in the bride's possession.

She called on a Monday morning, said she had a good time at her reception Saturday night, but that she had lost something.

"My dress," she said calmly.

"She didn't have a clue where she left it, where she took it off," said operations manager Rick Erwin. "We searched around and found nothing, then happened to walk into the conference room and found it sitting there."

There are some items left behind that don't get claimed or donated. At hotels, for example, the unclaimed items often are adult toys, which hotel managers admit go with the territory. Any stories about reuniting owners with those specific items will stay with the hotels.

To discuss them, as Steinbock at the Ritz puts it: "I don't think it's proper."