BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
Don’t you love that feeling of reaching into a jacket pocket and discovering a $10 bill you’d forgotten about?
The truth is, there could be tens, hundreds, even thousands of dollars out there waiting for you, and you only have to know where to look.
According to the Florida Department of Financial Services, there is more than $2.5 million in unclaimed funds belonging to Floridians.
Housing deposits, refunds, insurance claims and more from a variety of sources is waiting to be claimed. Around $1.6 million is owed to residents in Bradford County, $536,000 to residents in Union County and $11.5 million to residents in Clay County.
The search is as simple as typing your name and searching the database at FLTreasureHunt.gov. You can narrow the search by entering address information. (There is also a security feature which will ask you to identify objects in order to prove you are not a robot trying to access the database.)
If your name pulls up a match for your address, click on the account number and you will be told the type of property held and who reported it. You will also have a chance to file a claim to receive it.
While impossible to produce a complete list, a quick search for common names found more than 30 hits for people named Griffis in the 32091 zip code, including multiple account numbers for Brittany, Clare, Gladys, Rodeny and Ruby Griffis. There were 23 for Jackson, including Clifford, Elaine, Elsie, Luree and four for Selma. There was also a listing for the estate of Gladys Jackson.
There were 18 hits for Crawford in Lake Butler, including Angel, Dennis, Douglas, Gerald and Gerald Jr. There were more than 30 Smiths, including Bert, Jeffery, Josh and Rhonda.
It’s not just individuals with property to claim. Businesses may also find themselves listed. There were four listings for Bradford County Telegraph. The Lake Butler search for Smith returned to listings for Smith and Sons.
Searching takes very little time, but could result in a nice Christmas surprise. If you are fortunate enough to receive a generous refund or other claim, let us know.
Happy treasure hunting!
