One descendant of a deceased Louisiana resident got a very welcome surprise recently, according to Louisiana State Treasurer John M. Schroder.
“This is a very rare story, but it goes to show that you never know what may end up as unclaimed property,” Schroder said when relaying the story of sunken treasure.
But this treasure wasn’t submerged at the bottom of the sea, but rather beneath the floodwaters caused in the wake of Hurricane Katrina by the failure of the levees around New Orleans.
Schroder told CBS 42 that the contents of a safety deposit box that had been underwater at a New Orleans branch of Whitney Bank had sat waterlogged and untouched in a plastic bin for 17 years, collecting dust in the owner’s attic.
The bin contained bearer bonds that, even after being soaked, were incredibly valuable.
After the owner passed away, the heir to the deceased discovered the bonds and checked with the Department of the Treasury. The serial numbers were still legible, and when checked against the state’s records, were verified and paid out to the tune of $250,000.
“That’s why I encourage people to call our offices and check it out before you discard it as something insignificant or trash,” Schroder said, as the money was just sitting in the state’s Unclaimed Property coffers all these years.
One out of every six people in Louisiana has unclaimed property. To check if you might be one of them, you can call the Unclaimed Property Program at 888-925-4127 or visit the department’s website.
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