Lost & Found Procedures – Financial Services

When lost property is turned in to the local law enforcement agency, that agency will follow State of Utah Code 77-24a before sending the property to Surplus & Salvage.
Abandoned property from departments that rent premises must follow State of Utah Code 78B-6-815 and Code 78B-6-816 before sending the property to University Surplus & Salvage.
Departments that rent or allocate space shall establish a designated Lost and Found unit for their group. These include but are not limited to: Huntsman Center, College of Health (HPER), Housing and Residential Education, Student Life Center, University Student Apartments, Marriott Library and University Hospital.
Departments who find tangible or intangible property or who have lost property turned into them will complete a Lost and Found Property form that states:
1. How the property came into their possession (including time, date and place)
2. The finder does not know who the owner is
3. The property is not stolen to the finder’s knowledge
4. Possession of the property is not unlawful
5. The finder has provided all information at their disposal, which could lead to finding the owner of the property.
Lost property and the completed Lost and Found Property form will be maintained in the department that found the item for thirty (30) days. At the end of those thirty (30) days, the lost property and the Lost and Found Property form will be turned over to University Surplus & Salvage.
University Surplus & Salvage will dispose of tangible property through donation, sale of the property or discard.
University Surplus & Salvage will dispose of intangible property according to the Utah State Code.
Potential owners of the property can recover it by properly identifying the item, showing identification, paying reasonable costs incurred for storing the item and locating the owner. The potential owner will also need to complete a Lost and Found Claim form.
Notify the University of Utah Police of illegal or controlled substances that are turned into the Lost and Found. The police may give a case number for the illegal substances found. Keep the case number to maintain a chain of custody of the lost and found property turned over to the police.
Hazardous materials need to be disposed of immediately through the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.
Personal hygiene products that are not in a container, perishable property (including food and drinks), and garbage do not need to be stored and can be thrown away immediately.
Any property that poses health, safety and security risks can be thrown away immediately.
Bankcards that are turned into Surplus & Salvage will be shredded as soon as possible. They are stored in a secure area while waiting to be shredded.
Flash drives, SD cards and similar property will not be inserted into a computer to look for the owner’s information due to the danger of malware and ransomware.
UCards are sent to the UCard Office in the Union Building as soon as possible after being received at Surplus & Salvage.
Identification is shredded or returned to the originating office after the storage period has ended.
Property that has been identified and impounded per university policy 3-232: Operating Regulations for Bicycles, Skateboards, Rollerskates and Scooters (Non-motorized Riding Devices), as well as vehicles (including bicycles) abandoned per Utah Administrative Code R810-1-13 that are sent to University Surplus & Salvage will be immediately discarded or sold.
Abandoned property, as described in paragraph two (2), received by University Surplus & Salvage is immediately discarded, sold or donated. This includes property and bicycles from Housing and Residential Education and University Student Apartments after they have held it for thirty (30) days. Other lost property received by Surplus is held for a total of sixty (60) days.

References: State of Utah Code 78B-6-815, 78B-6-816 and 77-24a

This includes money, checks, drafts, deposits, interest, dividends, income, credit balances, overpayments, gift certificates, security deposits, refunds, credit memos, unpaid wages, unused airline tickets, stocks, bonds, securities, amounts due and payable under the terms of insurance policies and/or distributions from a trust or custodial fund, such as health, welfare, pension, vacation severance, retirement, death, stock purchase, profit sharing, employee savings, unemployment insurance or similar benefits.
This is property that is not considered intangible property.
These items include tangible property that comes into the hands of a university department or employee that remains unclaimed for thirty days or for which no owner can be identified within thirty days after a reasonable and diligent search. It does not include intangible property which is governed by Utah State Code.
This includes tangible property left in a locker, dormitory room, closet, apartment or other rental space provided by the university or university department.
Lost property includes tangible property and intangible property found and turned in to a university department or tangible property and intangible property left in a university department.
This includes drugs or chemicals that are regulated by federal or Utah state laws. Usually, these drugs or chemicals are illegal to possess, sell, manufacture or use unless under a physicians or dentist prescription.
Property containing substances that are identified as hazardous by federal and/or state laws and regulations and/or by university policies and procedures as administered by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.

Definitions