Pennsylvania joins national effort to return unclaimed property

HARRISBURG (KDKA) - Pennsylvania is joining a national effort to reunite people with unclaimed property. 

Treasurer Stacy Garrity said one in ten Pennsylvanians is owed some of the state's $4 billion worth of unclaimed property. 

Garrity announced on Thursday that Pennsylvania joined MissingMoney.com, which allows people to search unclaimed property databases for 46 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. 

"I'm excited to be a part of this effort to help more Pennsylvanians, and Americans from other states as well, find money that belongs to them," Garrity said in a news release. "This website is a great one-stop-shop to search unclaimed property in almost every state. It's especially useful for anyone who may have lived in multiple states over their lifetime." 

The Treasury usually gets unclaimed property from abandoned safe deposit boxes but also from college dorms, nursing homes or police evidence rooms. The Treasury also gets the balances of forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks, stocks and insurance policies. 

The Treasury said the average value of a Pennsylvanian's claim is about $1,500. 

You can search unclaimed property on the state's website and now MissingMoney.com, which is endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.