Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Volunteers say keys, credit cards common on streets after Hoopfest

It’s amazing what will slip out of your pocket when you’re shooting jumpers.

This weekend, credit cards, keys, wallets, phones and a gun magazine were among the items left on Spokane streets.

“It has actually been kind of quiet this year,” said Gudu Fischer, an operation committee chair for Hoopfest’s lost child center.

Volunteers collect the lost items and do their best to return them. Except the magazine, which was turned into the sheriff’s office, said Cathy Sutherland, another volunteer at the lost child center, which also serves as the collection point for lost and found.

Although volunteers do sweep the streets at the end of each day, most lost items are turned in by then.

“There are a lot of really honest people out there,” Fischer said. “We have a couple of empty wallets. But we have a lot of full ones.”

Fischer remembers a few years ago a 10-year-old boy turned in a $100 bill. No one had claimed it by the end of the day, so they let him keep the money as a reward for his honesty, she said.

About midday Sunday, there were two completely full purses, four wallets, three sets of keys, two phones, several driver’s licenses and about 10 credit or debit cards. Last year Sutherland said she found a wedding ring.

“The girl was hysterical,” Sutherland said. “She kept saying, ‘I lost my ring. I lost my ring.’ ”

At the end of the day volunteers try to return each item. They look up names on credit cards or driver’s licenses and give them a call.

“It’s really cool to see the relief in their faces,” Sutherland said.