Steelman returns $1M in abandoned property

Steelman's Division of Unclaimed Property returned $999,724 to 2,107 account holders in Missouri during the week of Jan. 8. The 52-week record now stands at $20.3 million, distributed to 57,789 account holders.

The weekly average for total returns in 2005 was $391,168, given to an average of 1,111 account holders per week.

Steelman's office receives property when the rightful owner cannot be located by the original agency or business holding the property. Items can include cash abandoned in bank accounts, contents of safe deposit boxes, insurance policies and government checks.

In most cases, accounts are considered abandoned after five to seven years with no activity. The property is turned over to the state for safekeeping, but ownership of the property is never given to the state.

The division uses a number of methods to find owners, such as published lists in local papers, data banks, phone books and a Web site, www.showmemoney.com, that lists abandoned property.