Nearly 20 cars, nearly two dozen Rolexes, an electric bike, a rice cooker, and a stuffed Tyrannosaurus rex are all headed to the auction block as Pittsburgh International Airport clears out another year of forgotten belongings, abandoned vehicles, and worn-out equipment. Online bidding in the airport's annual lost-and-found auction is scheduled to begin closing on Tuesday, September 8, at 6 p.m., giving prospective buyers a couple of weeks to browse before the gavel effectively falls.
The sale is being previewed at a Washington County warehouse, according to CBS News Pittsburgh, and it typically pulls in between 2,000 and 3,000 registered bidders competing for hundreds of individual lots. This year's haul includes the usual mix of luggage, laptops, strollers, sunglasses, jewelry, watches and bracelets left behind by travelers, plus items passengers apparently decided just weren't worth chasing down. Auctioneer Garrett Wilkerson said the lineup includes an electric bike, several Rolexes and a rice cooker, along with a collection of stuffed animals that features the T. rex. It's not the first time oddball items have turned up in the sale — past auctions have included taxidermy animals, per the same account.
Where to Find the Cars, and Why They End Up Here
Regular passenger vehicles up for bid, including a late-model Mercedes-Benz convertible among nearly 20 cars in this year's sale, are located at the Joe R. Pyle Auction warehouse at 1490 W. Chestnut St. in Washington. That same facility, run by Joe R. Pyle Complete Auction & Realty Service, also holds the lost-and-found merchandise, while heavier airport authority equipment and work vehicles sit at a separate lot on Cargo Road in Coraopolis, according to the auctioneer's listing.
Cars end up in the auction for a range of reasons, CBS News Pittsburgh reports. Some owners abandon a car, van or truck once they decide it holds little value, while others leave vehicles behind after going on vacation or moving away and simply never coming back for them. In some cases, the vehicle owner has died while out of town, and their family never claims the car. Before any of those vehicles can legally be declared abandoned and listed for sale, law enforcement and state officials must complete a mandatory 45-day tracing period attempting to reach the registered owner, according to Blue Sky News.
Even after a winning bid, car buyers face more waiting. PennDOT's title processing for these vehicles can take 90 days or longer, and non-dealer buyers must arrange to tow their purchase away rather than drive it off the lot, per the auction house's own guidance. Winning bidders overall are charged a 15% buyer's premium on top of the hammer price, though that drops to 10% for anyone paying by cash or check.
Old Plows and Loaders Get a Second Life
Alongside the personal items and cars, the auction includes heavy-duty equipment used by the airport authority, such as loaders and plows that have reached the end of their useful life. Bob Kerlik said the sale includes used loaders and other airport authority equipment no longer fit for service, with that machinery housed separately at the Coraopolis site rather than alongside the passenger vehicles and lost-and-found goods in Washington.
Charity Comes Before and After the Bidding
The unclaimed items that make it to auction represent what's left after the airport authority funnels usable goods to nonprofits first. Airport officials donated 60 pieces of medical equipment to Global Links on July 1 and sent 57 boxes of unclaimed clothing to the anti-poverty group Circles of Pittsburgh less than a week later, according to Blue Sky News. Global Links distributes items like wheelchairs and walkers to low-income seniors, while Circles of Pittsburgh works directly with local families.
What doesn't get donated eventually gets sold, and the money doesn't stay with the airport. Net proceeds from the auctioned lost-and-found goods flow to the Allegheny County Airport Authority Charitable Foundation, which funds an airport military lounge, aviation scholarships, workforce development programs and public art installations, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Past single-year auctions have generated more than $75,000 for local charities, according to TribLIVE.
From a Crowded Hangar to an Online-Only Event
The auction wasn't always something bidders browsed from a laptop. Organizers permanently shifted the event from a live, in-person gathering inside the airport's Heavy Equipment Building to an online-only format, the Post-Gazette reports, in order to eliminate security risks near active airside facilities and simplify how items get cataloged. The in-person version once drew as many as 1,500 attendees packed into an active maintenance area.
Before anything reaches the auction stage, unclaimed items sit under a strict retention policy. Under Allegheny County Airport Authority rules, belongings left in public airport areas are held for 30 days before being declared forfeited, backed by a 24/7 digital tracking platform the airport launched in 2025 as part of its We Got You initiative, according to Blue Sky News. Travelers can check that system online to try to recover a lost bag or laptop before the countdown runs out.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)
