Found an item? Your responsibilities

What to do when you find someone else's property — your responsibilities and how to return it safely.

Found something in Columbia? Handling it responsibly protects both you and the owner. Rules vary by location, but the principles are consistent.

Make a reasonable effort to find the owner. Check for ID, contact details, or anything that identifies who it belongs to.
Don't assume it's yours to keep. Keeping found property without trying to return it can have legal consequences. When in doubt, hand it in.
Hand valuables to the authorities. Report significant or high-value finds to the police non-emergency line for Columbia; they'll log it and may issue a reference.
Store it safely. Keep the item secure and unchanged while you try to return it.
Post a found listing. Add a found-item listing for Columbia with enough detail for the real owner to identify it — while holding back one verifying detail.

Helpful resources for Columbia

Nextdoor
Reach neighbors to return a found item

Recent reports in Columbia

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Found travel visas near the State House steps

Hi, I’m Jordan Lee. Around 9:30 AM on Tuesday, I found a stack of travel visas lying on the sidewalk outside the South Carolina State House on Main Street in Columbia. They were in a worn folder with a few stamps and a couple of passport-sized photos. It looked like the owner might have dropped them in a rush. I picked them up and kept them safe, hoping to help the rightful owner retrieve them soon.

State House steps, Main Street, Columbia 8 days ago

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Found your flutes near the State House, Columbia today

Last Friday at 4:15 p.m., I found a case of flutes left on a bench near the State House on Gervais Street in Columbia. The case had a few sheet music pages peeking out and a red cleaning cloth tucked inside. I checked for a name tag and found nothing, so I brought the instruments to the downtown lost-and-found, hoping the owner would see this. It feels strange to imagine someone practicing late on a Friday and losing track of their gear, and I'd be glad to help reunite them.

Near the State House on Gervais St, downtown Columbia 21 days ago

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Found stamps near the State House, Columbia.

This morning around 7:15 a.m., I was walking along Gervais Street near the State House when I spotted a small plastic case and a bundle of stamps tucked behind a planter. I picked them up and checked the surroundings for an owner, but no one came by. The stamps look like a mix of foreign issues and commemoratives, all neatly arranged in a worn sleeve. I’m hoping whoever lost them sees this and can claim them through the site.

State House steps on Gervais St. 28 days ago

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Found sheet music in Columbia, SC

Today around 4:30 pm I found a small stack of sheet music on the sidewalk outside the State House steps on Gervais Street in downtown Columbia. The papers are yellowed with age, bound with a pink rubber band, and one page has a treble clef sketched in the corner. A note on the top page looks like a name—Ella—penciled in the margin. The music feels like it belongs to someone who practiced here after class, and finding it brought a weird sense of connection. I’m hoping the owner will see this and claim them through the site so someone can bring back a memory in the form of a song.

Sentimental

near the State House steps on Gervais St, downtown Columbia about 1 month ago

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Found brooches near State House

I was out for a walk along Gervais Street this afternoon, around 2:30 PM, and I found a cluster of brooches tucked under a bench on the steps of the South Carolina State House. The pieces are silver-toned with small colored stones and floral enamel, spread across several pins. I’ve left them where I found them on the bench with a note, hoping the owner will recognize them and claim them. I know how special some of these pieces can be, and it felt right to try and reunite them with their owner.

State House steps, Gervais St 2 months ago

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Found: Driver's License in Columbia

I found a driver's license on the sidewalk in front of the Columbia Museum of Art around 2:30 PM today. The license bears a photo and name, and I picked it up to help reunite it with the owner. I’m posting here because I know how anxious you can feel when something like this is missing. The moment was quiet and sunny on Main Street, near the museum, and I kept the item safe until this page could help.

Main Street, in front of the Columbia Museum of Art 3 months ago