JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Tens of thousands of pieces of people’s property are being held by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and they want to find the rightful owners.
Jefferson County recently opened a new building to hold even more items. The property could have been stolen, or found property, or evidence for a trial. Much of it should be returned to the owners.
“In our evidence storage, we have roughly about 46,000 pieces of property,” said Grant Bissell, a sheriff’s department spokesman. “Evidence spanning basically everything you can think of.”
For years, they stored all those items in the basement of the sheriff’s department office in Hillsboro. But the evidence storage room is overflowing. When each item is brought in, a lot of paperwork begins.
“Our evidence bureau has to go through that stuff meticulously, itemize it, take good notes of what it is and where it was found, what case it was found with,” Bissell said.
Almost every police department has stolen or found property in storage.
If you think Jefferson County may have your property, you can’t just show up and take a look around.
“This isn’t a shopping spree,” Bissell said.
You need something that shows you are the owner. A police report from when it was stolen is good, or a serial number from the item, or a specific description that shows you know the piece of property. For example: you carved your initials in it.
They’ve started a weekly show on the department’s Facebook page called Found Property Friday. The property ranges from sentimental, like photos, to high-priced items like jewelry.
You can contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department at 636-797-5027 if you have any questions.
