Carlos Guisasola Madrid

Madrid

Updated Thursday, February 1, 2024-00:03

For a simple matter of statistics, it is possible that you have been thinking for days about the whereabouts of your keys, your ID, your wallet or, you never know, even all three things at the same time. Or maybe he's just now realizing that he came home last night without some of his most precious items. If trying to find lost things made money, retirements would accelerate. We spend a few years of our lives acting as frustrated hounds. And, unfortunately, most of the time without success.

They know this well in the Lost and Found Office of the Madrid City Council, where 13 gigantic rows, packed with disparate odds and ends, invite one to think that human beings are clueless by nature. There are about

27 kilometers of shelves

in this curious museum. Up to 73,770 belongings arrived in 2023 to this enclave, which rests a foot away from the emblematic

Legazpi

square , in the district of Arganzuela. According to municipal sources, 10% more than the previous year, when they received

65,949

. More than 7,000 were returned to their owners. The rest, like many other belongings, rest indoors, waiting for someone to realize that they can be found there. Up to

44,315 citizens

were served last year, both telematically and in person. Many of them, logically, finally breathed a sigh of relief at solving the mystery that tormented them.

«There was a homeless person who found 400 euros and came to deliver them to the office. The relevant two years passed (the official time that objects remain waiting for their owners to appear) and, since the owner was not located, he ended up keeping that money. It was an episode of tremendous honesty,"

Carmen Fernández

, head of service at the Lost and Found Office, recalls to GRAN MADRID, which in 2023 launched a cargo review system to find out the origin of the gadgets, increasing notifications to the owners by 57% compared to the previous year, reaching 5,078 people. The previous appointment was also deleted and the deposited objects were published on social networks. "The changes have improved management and also the appreciation that citizens have of this service," says

Engracia Hidalgo

, delegate of the Area of ​​Economy, Innovation and Finance, on whom the office depends.

One kilo of gold plates

Because money is lost in the bowels of the capital. Much more than you might think. Lost in purses, suitcases, envelopes or, sometimes, on a sidewalk. A good example is the 142,700 euros in cash that were rescued last year. Of them, 26,104 were returned to their owners and more than 4,800 were given to those who chanced upon one of those bills whose whereabouts were unknown. Just over 100,000 euros ended up in the municipal coffers. However, in 2022 the figure exceeded 111,000 euros.

"Most of them arrive from the airport in backpacks or suitcases, but we don't know why they don't come to pick them up nor do anyone claim them," admits Carmen, who brings to light another of the many anecdotes that accumulate between the four walls of the warehouse. : «An Austrian citizen lost 3,000 euros. There was no way to find him and, after a lot of thinking, we found him through a dental clinic card. He tries to locate the owners, but it is not always possible. In a way, we are a bit of detectives.

One of the shelves at the Lost and Found Office.EM

This exotic bazaar receives dozens of gadgets of all kinds and social classes every day. Purses and wallets abound - who hasn't lost one? And, of course, jewelry, glasses, clothing or mobile devices. But there are many surprises... «Right now we have a hydraulic leg that no one has claimed. Also a wheelchair or a 40-inch television. Even last year we returned some gold plates (about a kilo) to a finder. "She had found them on the public road and no one came to claim them," she recalls. There, winning lottery tickets have arrived, whose expiration time for collection is paralyzed while waiting for their owner. «The only thing we do not accept are plants and animals. This would become a zoo, since two years have to pass,” Carmen jokes.

"Objects have a second life"

Means of transportation are the perfect trap to forget your mind. 38,267 objects arrived

from

Barajas

, 14,281 from the Metro and 6,024 from one of the Renfe cars. Taxi drivers often land with an unexpected gift that does not belong to them. These are figures from 2023 that are repeated on a recurring basis. And if we have to talk about black months, March (7,454) and November (7,200) won by a landslide. In those days, more than one ended up going crazy and the activity in the corridors of the Lost and Found Office multiplied.

And what happens to those who go two years without being claimed? “They have a second life: whether it is auction, donation or recycling,” Carmen completes. And the fact is that 38,420 objects changed their status throughout last year, which caused an online public auction to be held in June with 2,059 items (electronic material, watches and jewelry), which reported

64,172 euros

more to the City Council's treasury.

For all this, if you are one of those who has been missing something for days, even after having asked your mother or your wife, go to Paseo del Molino. Maybe in those 27 kilometers of shelves you will find peace in the face of your worries.