SELLERSBURG —
In just a few clicks, Susan Priest found bank accounts she forgot she had opened.
While the $25 plus interest in the two accounts she started for her grandchildren won’t put them through college, it was an exciting discovery, she said.
“I probably would have never looked,” she said. “I had forgot that I had even done it.”
Priest found the money as part of an event held by Attorney General Greg Zoeller to explain the state’s unclaimed property program and search options at Ivy Tech Community College on Wednesday.
Showing people how to find unclaimed property is the most fun part about being attorney general, Zoeller said, and it allows him to help citizens in a different way.
“I have a mission to serve individuals,” he said. “It’s an effort to return funds to the rightful owners.”
Unclaimed property includes investment earnings, insurance proceeds and benefits, wages and money from bank accounts. It does not include real estate, abandoned vehicles or other such items.
There is about $4 million in claimable property from Clark County and about $2.76 million from Floyd County. In total, there is $350 million in unclaimed property statewide.
Once people find property, they fill out a mail-in form to claim the money. About $44.3 million was returned to Hoosiers last year.
Zoeller also used the visit to roll out an Indiana Unclaimed mobile app that he said will spread awareness about the program to tech-savvy users and hopefully encourage them to look for themselves and others.
He said it will hopefully increase the return rate.
“If I can get it to spread virally, it can help me do my job,” he said.
Lenae Kavanaugh found dividends owed to her in-laws totaling about $80. She said she never knew the search was available and was glad to both learn about it and turn up some money.
“The more people know about it, the more apt they are to look,” she said.
Brookelynn Guthrie didn’t strike gold, but she said she would tell her friends about the site.
“It doesn’t cost anything to look,” she said.
Zoeller said he always reminds people to search the database not only for themselves, but for others.
“In Indiana, we’re Hoosiers,” he said, “and Hoosiers are very friendly, so we make sure we find money for our neighbors.”
Recent Local News
Treasure hunt: Attorney General explains how to find unclaimed property
- Recent Local News
-
-
Emergency officials stage bus wreck, gas spill at FCHS
A school bus had turned over after being struck by a gas tanker, and as the truck leaked chemicals, emergency crews rushed in to try and rescue the kids who were trapped inside.
Thankfully Friday’s crash scene was only a simulation, but for Floyd County emergency officials, it was an important test to prepare them for a real life scenario. -
Fun Faces At Clarksville Field Day
-
35th annual Starlight Strawberry Festival May 25
When Joe Huber and Daisy Book were looking for a way to honor local strawberry farmers in the area, they probably had no idea that 35 years later, their idea would attract nearly 10,000 visitors each year.
But that is exactly what organizers are expecting on Saturday, May 25, at the 35th annual Strawberry Festival held at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Starlight. -
Rinpoche’s journey to Indiana remarkable
Considering his tumultuous past, Arjia Rinpoche still smiles a lot. During a talk he gave Thursday at a Louisville’s Festival of Faiths presentation to celebrate the arrival of the Dalai Lama, the Buddhist monk grinned and chuckled as he told the tale of his remarkable life.
-
Floyd County Nutrition Coalition hands out 1,000 tomato plants
The organization recently handed out 1,000 free tomato plants in the community, as several groups participated in the effort including HOPE Southern Indiana, Floyd Memorial Hospital and Health Services and the Floyd County Health Department.
- INDOT to close lane of I-65 at 52-mile marker for repairs
- BRIEFS: May 18-19, 2013
-
“Caution Light’ the economic forecast for rest of year in Southern Indiana
Southern Indiana has made progress since the employment dip at the depths of the latest recession, but there’s still some catching up to do, Indiana University Southeast economic expert Uric Dufrene said Friday.
-
“Caution Light’ the economic forecast for rest of year in Southern Indiana
Southern Indiana has made progress since the employment dip at the depths of the latest recession, but there’s still some catching up to do, Indiana University Southeast economic expert Uric Dufrene said Friday.
-
POLICE: New Albany mother killed two children, then herself
New Albany Police Chief Sherri Knight said severe mental illness is what led to New Albany resident Jaime Clutter to drown her two children, then herself, in Falling Run Creek on March 13. The bodies were found where the creek runs through Binford Park.
- Henryville playground to be built Saturday
-
Five times four: Five Floyd County schools get Four Star designation; one in Clark County gets nod
- Aquatic center design gets council nod
- Chautauqua Festival set for this weekend
-
Helping out His Holiness: Woman takes on busy task of coordinating Dalai Lama’s events
- More Recent Local News Headlines
-
