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 Lexington? 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 Lexington; 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 Lexington with enough detail for the real owner to identify it — while holding back one verifying detail.

Helpful resources for Lexington

Nextdoor
Reach neighbors to return a found item

Recent reports in Lexington

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Found US passport with blue cover and gold seal

I found a US passport this afternoon around 3:15pm in Lexington, in the parking lot behind the Fayette Mall off Nicholasville Road. It's a dark blue US passport with the gold seal, a bit worn at the corners—the kind of thing that clearly travels. The pages look intact and readable, but there's a small coffee stain on the back cover and a barcode sticker on the inside back cover. It obviously belongs to someone and I want to help reunite them with it; losing a passport is stressful, and this one seems recently used. If you recognize any detail here, reach out so the owner can get their documents back quickly.

Lexington about 1 month ago

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Found dog: tri-color beagle mix with blue collar

This afternoon around 4:15pm I found a dog outside the Kroger on Nicholasville Road, near Hamburg Pavilion in Lexington. It’s a tri-color beagle mix, about 25 pounds, with a white chest and a slight limp in the right hind leg. The dog is wearing a blue nylon collar with a small round metal tag engraved 'Leia.' She seemed friendly but a bit overwhelmed, so I kept her safe and brought her to a nearby bench while I posted this. I know how stressful it is to lose a dog, and I’d love to help get Leia back to her family—please reach out if you can verify the tag or describe the limp and the collar.

Lexington about 2 months ago

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Found orange tabby cat near UK campus

Found this orange tabby cat this afternoon around 4:15 pm in the parking lot behind the Starbucks on South Limestone Street, Lexington, near the UK campus. It’s an orange tabby with a white chest and white paws, and it’s wearing a blue collar with a tiny silver bell. It looked healthy but a bit nervous, and it has a tiny notch in the left ear plus a faint diagonal stripe on its tail—easy to identify if you know this cat. I’m pretty sure it belongs to someone around here, and I’d love to help get it back home; if you think it’s yours, drop a note here and we can set up a meetup to reunite them.

Lexington 3 months ago

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Gold ring with sapphire found on Limestone Street

Found this ring this afternoon around 3:15pm on Limestone Street, right in front of the Camelot Café, near the Lexington Opera House. It's a 14k yellow gold band with a small square-cut sapphire in a bezel setting, about a size 6. The inner band is engraved with the initials KA. Ring is in decent shape but has a tiny nick on the bezel from being dropped on the sidewalk. I’m hoping to reunite it with its owner—please drop me a note if this sounds like yours, and tell me the initials you see inside or where you last wore it.

Lexington 4 months ago

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Black rectangular sunglasses with gold hinges

I found a pair of black rectangular sunglasses with a slim frame this afternoon around 4:15pm outside the Albert B. Chandler Hospital on South Limestone Street in Lexington. They're in good condition overall, with clean lenses and gold-toned hinges, but there's a tiny scratch on the left lens. Inside the left temple is an engraving that reads 'PJ'—a potential owner's initials. I know how easy it is to misplace glasses and how important they are, so I figured I’d post here in case someone recognizes them and wants them back.

Lexington 4 months ago

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Fluffy gray hamster with blue harness

Found this fluffy gray hamster this afternoon around 4:15pm in the Fayette Mall parking lot off Nicholasville Road, near the food court entrance. It’s tiny—about the size of a ping-pong ball—with soft gray fur, a white belly, and a sky-blue harness with a tiny silver bell that jingles when it moves. The little guy seems healthy and curious, just a bit rattled by the cars passing by. If this is your hamster, I’d love to help get it back—meetups can happen near the Fayette Mall entrance or by the bus stop on Nicholasville Road to make it easy.

Lexington 4 months ago