{"id":273120,"date":"2026-08-27T08:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T08:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/273120\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T08:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T08:48:12","slug":"up-up-and-away-items-lost-at-pittsburgh-airport-being-sold-in-online-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/273120\/","title":{"rendered":"Up, up and away: Items lost at Pittsburgh airport being sold in online auction"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Items lost at Pittsburgh airport being sold in online auction <\/p>\n

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Want a water bottle? There are plenty to be had in the auction of items that were lost at Pittsburgh International Airport. [Brad Hundt]\n<\/p>\n

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Belts are sometimes lost at airport security screenings and lots are available in the Pittsburgh International Airport auction of items that were lost and whose owners were never located. [Brad Hundt]<\/p>\n

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This stuffed cat looks grumpy, perhaps because he was left behind at Pittsburgh International Airport. [Brad Hundt]<\/p>\n

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Bob Kerlik, the public affairs director for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, looks in the window of a Mercedes that was left behind at Pittsburgh International Airport. It is being sold as part of the airport\u2019s annual sale of lost-and-found goods. [Brad Hundt]\n<\/p>\n

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A Rolex watch is among the items on the block in Pittsburgh International Airport\u2019s annual auction of items that were lost at the airport, and whose owners were never found. [Brad Hundt]\n<\/p>\n

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Making your way through an airport can be a frantic experience, so it\u2019s easy to see how a water bottle, a ball cap or a half-read paperback could get lost in the hurly-burly.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s much harder to imagine how someone could have misplaced a Mercedes.<\/p>\n

In the last year, though, some pricey timepieces, including a couple of genuine Rolex watches, have been separated from their owners at Pittsburgh International Airport, as have such eye-opening wares as a handcrafted necklace, a folding electric bicycle and, yes, a sleek, black Mercedes Benz.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a wide variety of things,\u201d according to Bob Kerlik, the public affairs director for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates Pittsburgh International Airport. <\/p>\n

Airport officials make strenuous efforts to reunite travelers with items that have been lost and found, but once they have exhausted all their options, all those goods land on the auction block. They are being stored at the Joe R. Pyle Auction Warehouse in Franklin Crossroads Park outside Washington through Sept. 8. An online auction is underway at the Joe R. Pyle website, joerpyleauctions.com, and an open house for the public to look over the goods is scheduled for Sept 7 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the warehouse.<\/p>\n

Items are mostly sold in lots in the auction, and the majority of them are pretty mundane \u2013 plenty of belts that were left at security checkpoints, sunglasses, stuffed toys, books, purses and luggage. More startling, though, is the bounty of laptop computers and tablets, cellphones and strollers. Kerlik believes that some things are lost when travelers have long layovers at the airport and take things out of their carry-on bags, or while they are grabbing something to eat. In some cases, they might realize they can\u2019t take something through a security checkpoint and just decide to leave it behind.<\/p>\n

More baffling, though, are the abandoned cars. More than 20 vehicles were left unclaimed in airport parking lots or garages last year. That\u2019s a typical number for any given year, and officials work with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to track down who the cars belong to. If there\u2019s not a response, the cars become airport property.<\/p>\n

Aside from the Mercedes, the other vehicles in the auction include a 2022 Honda HR-V, a 2011 Toyota Sienna and a 2005 Acura TL. The vehicles are being sold as-is. Retired airport vehicles and surplus equipment are also being sold.<\/p>\n

Some lost-and-found items are donated to local charities. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Allegheny County Airport Authority Charitable Foundation, which boosts various workforce development initiatives, educational opportunities and community programs.<\/p>\n

Last year, Pittsburgh International Airport launched a new digital lost-and-found platform, which gives people who have passed through the airport the ability to submit claims, track their belongings and receive updates. Items are eligible to be returned to their owners for 30 days. <\/p>\n


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