False teeth? In 2023, RSW's Lost & Found Office collected 3,600 items at the airport

Mark H. Bickel, Fort Myers News-Press
Updated ·3 min read
A lost and found sign at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.
A lost and found sign at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.

Note to readers: The News-Press and Naples Daily News are providing special coverage of Southwest Florida International Airport. We are calling it "Airport Week." March is traditionally the busiest month of the year and it can be a very busy time for the Lost & Found Office.

Before this month comes to an end, more than 1,000,000 passengers will travel through Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW). March is the busiest month of the year for the Fort Myers airport, and that means, most likely, a busy time for the Lost & Found Office.

We didn't even know there was a Lost & Found office at RSW until some of us at the News-Press and Naples Daily News spent a couple of hours at RSW one day earlier this month. Of course, we were curious about the kind of items that are turned in and we had some other questions. Here's our Q&A with the airport:

Question: RSW's Lost & Found Office: Most common items turned in?

  • Cellphones

  • Suitcases

  • Clothing items, such as coats

Dentures are on the list of most unusual items turned into the Lost & Found office at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers.
Dentures are on the list of most unusual items turned into the Lost & Found office at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers.

RSW's Lost & Found Office: Most unusual items turned in?

  • A kitchen rolling pin

  • A Tesla car charger

  • A bow and arrow set

  • False teeth (dentures)

RSW's Lost & Found Office: What lost items cause the most anxiety?

Valuable items such as cellphones, keys and passports cause people to be worried. Sentimental items, which can range from a jacket to a ring, have also caused people to be frantic because of the meaning associated behind them.

RSW's Lost & Found Office: How many items were logged in as lost in 2023?

A total of 3,645 items were turned into our Lost & Found Office in 2023.

Passports lost at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers are among the items lost that cause the most anxiety with passengers.
Passports lost at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers are among the items lost that cause the most anxiety with passengers.

How long do items remain in Lost & Found at RSW?

In accordance with Florida Statute Title XL – Chapter 705, Lost or Abandoned Property items are retained for 30 calendar days after the date they are received by our office.

What happens to the Lost & Found items at RSW that are unclaimed?

Items not collected within 30 days are donated to Goodwill.

How many people work in the Lost & Found Office at RSW?

We have one full-time Lost & Found agent dedicated to the Lost & Found Office, Monday-Friday from 830 a.m. to 5 p.m. Other airport operations staff assist with lost & found by retrieving found items from the campus and helping return essential items to passengers after hours.

Where are the lost items found at RSW?

Lost property found on LCPA (Lee County Port Authority) premises, which includes airside, landside, terminals, parking garages, and airport shuttle buses is turned into the Lost & Found Office.

Property found on an aircraft, TSA security checkpoint, in a rental car or rideshare vehicle is not accepted by the Lost & Found Office (these items are handled by the airline, TSA, car rental agency, etc.).

We check our inventory if a customer reports losing items in any of these areas. If we do not have it, they are asked to complete a lost item report with us just in case the item gets turned in to our office and then are directed to the appropriate company.

What else should people know about RSW's Lost & Found Office?

Lost & Found acts as an investigations department, information booth, as well as a liaison between our business partners in order to give RSW passengers the best experience possible. We are constantly working to do our best at reuniting passengers with their missing items.

We'd love to hear a RSW Lost & Found 'happy ending' story!

A distraught female passenger had lost her phone and spent an hour looking for it in the terminal. While calming her down, we helped her retrace her steps so we could call personnel to help. Despite our efforts, we were not able to locate her phone. On a whim, she was asked to check her luggage one last time. Lo and behold, it was inside the suitcase pocket the whole time. She was grateful for the assistance and left to enjoy the rest of her stay in Southwest Florida.

For us…another happy traveler!

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: RSW Fort Myers: Unusual items lost, found at airport may surprise you