The hustle of air travel often leads to passengers leaving behind a trail of misplaced items at airports. Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) Airport's lost and found is a beacon of hope for those who find themselves in this common predicament, handling an array of forgotten belongings from the practical to the peculiar.
An MSP Lost and Found clerk, Nancy Fortier, brings over four decades of experience to her role and understands the panic that sets in when travelers realize they've lost something. The staff diligently logs each item into a database, a system that has proven successful; about 40% of items find their way back to their owners, according to Phil Burke, the assistant director for customer experience at the Metropolitan Airports Commission, as reported by KARE 11. Items not reclaimed within 30 days are given a second life through donations to charity, a testament to the office's commitment to stewardship.
Among the items entrusted to the MSP Lost and Found are the standard fare of phones, laptops, and clothing but a gorilla suit and a tea kettle have also made the inventory. "And no one has been looking for him yet," Fortier said about the costume in a statement obtained by CBS News Minnesota. Efforts to reunite items with their owners can sometimes feel like detective work, especially in instances such as when a U.S. Naval Academy class ring from 1977 was returned to the daughter of a deceased classmate, thanks to the diligence of lost and found staff.
With a team that prides itself on going the extra mile, MSP Airport's lost and found office ensures that lost possessions have a chance of finding their way home. Fortier's years of service have been marked by the belief that "Everything is important to whoever is inquiring here, they want their property back, and we just have a team of people that work here that want to get it back for them. It's very rewarding," she told CBS News Minnesota. For those who fear their items have vanished into the travel void, the MSP Lost and Found serves as a reminder that not all is lost.
