Florida has returned more than $1.4 billion in unclaimed property; do you have any?

Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published:
Fenn told The New Mexican in 2017 that the chest weighs 20 pounds and its contents weigh another 22 pounds. He said he delivered the chest to its hiding place by himself over two separate trips. Asked how he felt now that the treasure has been found, Fenn said: “I don’t know, I feel halfway kind of glad, halfway kind of sad because the chase is over.” “I congratulate the thousands of people who participated in the search and hope they will continue to be drawn by the promise of other discoveries,” he said on his website. In 2015, on CBS’ “Sunday Morning,” Fenn read the poem that held clues to the location of the chest. Fenn told Barry Petersen that he hoped his treasure would spark a spirit of adventure for those seeking it. “I made it hard [to find] deliberately,” he said. “If it was easy, anyone could do it.” First published on June 8, 2020 / 6:16 AM © 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Florida has returned more than $1.4 billion in unclaimed property to people over the past four years including $349 million dollars in 2020.

In addition to items like jewelry, coins, and baseball cards the state keeps track of unclaimed bank accounts, stock dividends, and utility or rent deposits.

Chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis oversees the division of unclaimed property and says 1-in-5 Floridians have some type of unclaimed property.

“You’ll be surprised. You may have $6, you may have $600,” Patronis said. “Claim it, fill out the form, submit it and we’ll get you a check in a couple of weeks.”

Click HERE to search the Florida unclaimed property website, FLTreasureHunt.gov.

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