Lost something in Massachusetts? Here's what to do.
A phone on the Red Line, a laptop bag at Logan, gloves at a Cambridge café — Massachusetts has one of the country's oldest finder laws (still on the books, still counted in dollars from another century) and some very modern lost and found systems. Here's how to use both.
Retrace, call, report, search.
The desks worth contacting.
The Massachusetts finder law, in plain English.
Under Mass. General Laws chapter 134, §1, anyone who finds lost money or goods worth $3 or more must, within two days, report the find to the officer in charge at a police station in the town where it was found — or, where there's no station, post public notices or advertise in a local paper. The chapter then gives the owner a window to claim (with restitution of reasonable charges), and §4 is unambiguous about what happens next: if the owner does not appear within one year of the finding, the property "shall enure to the finder" — provided the finder complied with §1's reporting requirement. In practice: take it to the station, get a receipt, and the law is on your side.
This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. See the statute: MGL ch. 134, §1, ch. 134 generally.
One search instead of ten phone calls.
The T and Logan have systems; the hotel bar, the climbing gym, and the conference venue have drawers. MyQRSearch turns those drawers into one searchable directory, logged by verified businesses.
MyQRSearch doesn't have partner locations in Massachusetts yet — early partners get founding-location placement in this directory.
Run a Massachusetts business that finds things? From a Back Bay hotel to a Somerville gym: log found items in minutes and let owners come to you.