Treasure Finders arrive Feb. 15

 The state’s holding $223,000 that belongs to people in LaRue County and State Treasurer Todd Hollenbach’s trying to get it back to them.

Jerianne Strange

LaRue County Judge-Executive Tommy Turner is working with State Treasurer Todd Hollenbach to help reunite area residents with unclaimed property that is due them. A panel of volunteers will assist with the event on Feb. 15 at the LaRue County Courthouse. Assisting with the effort, from left: Bob Sims, Hollenbach, Turner, Dennis Wells and Mike Cottrell.

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Hollenbach announced Monday he’s bringing his Treasure Finders program to Hodgenville on Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the LaRue County Courthouse.

“This is your money,” he said. “We’re just trying to get it back to you.”

Treasure Finders is a volunteer-based, statewide effort designed to notify Kentuckians of cash and/or property being held by the state treasury. Each year the treasury collects millions of dollars in unclaimed property from banks, insurance companies and other agencies. Efforts are made to contact the owners at his or her last known address but after a set amount of time, the property is deemed “abandoned,” he said. 

Most of the unclaimed property is in the form of cash “from old insurance policies to stocks and bonds to leftover bank accounts,” Hollenbach said.

The Treasure Finders program works by bringing together local volunteers in an effort to reach those who have unclaimed property. Those claiming property are instructed how to proceed to claim it from the treasury.

     On. Feb. 15, a group of local volunteers will gather at the courthouse to review a list from Hollenbach’s office of all the LaRue County people who have unclaimed property. The volunteers will have all the information they need to identify potential recipients, but no one gets to find out the amount of the claim except the person who is entitled to it, Hollenbach said.

     Volunteers are needed to work the program. Judge-Executive Tommy Turner said people from the area who have been or still are involved in civic groups, churches or other groups will be helpful, as they will know who is who and who used to live where. Anyone interested in volunteering should call Turner at 358-4400.

     “We want people with generational knowledge of the community,” Hollenbach said.

 He said the volunteers helping with the local search effort will have people’s names and last known addresses, but won’t know the amount involved in anyone’s claim.

The Treasure Finders program has helped return a record $72 million in unclaimed property in the last five years. 

Turner said the county was able to claim $5,000 last year on a security bond that had been posted in the 1970s; a bank in Somerset had been holding it.

To check the treasury’s database of unclaimed properties, visit www.kytreasury.com or call the state treasury at (800) 465-4722.

Once someone has determined they have unclaimed property and have proven their identities, the treasury office will let them know the amount of the claims, have them fill out some paperwork and set them on the path to getting it.

“We’re hoping to have some sizable amounts for folks in LaRue County,” Hollenbach said.