At Boomerang, the leading SaaS platform for lost and found, our mission is to seamlessly reconnect people with their lost items.
We believe lost and found can be a magical moment for all, and Boomerang’s platform is part of that magic. Nonetheless, even before us, with a stroke of luck, there have been some amazing lost and found stories. Here are some of my favorites:
A lost camera was returned after four years: In 2021, a lost camera was reunited with its owner thanks to a determined 12-year-old who started a social media post, which was shared over 39,000 times. A work colleague of the lost item owner came across the trending post first and looped in the item owner on the post. The story was reported by BBC News, among others.
Lost wedding ring returned by an unlikely hero: In 2018, a man lost his wedding ring while swimming in a lake in Massachusetts. A few days later, he received a phone call from a boy who had found the ring using a metal detector. Funny enough, the boy had borrowed the metal detector from his grandfather for fun treasure hunting. The story was reported by CBS News, among others.
Lost dog reunited with family after ten years: In 2016, Bambi went missing from her home in Michigan. Ten years later, Bambi was found wandering the streets in Florida, and thanks to a microchip, she was reunited with her family 60 miles away. The story was reported by ABC Detroit, among others.
A lost engagement ring found after nine years: In 2019, a woman lost her diamond engagement ring while gardening at her home in Canada. She searched for the ring but could not find it and eventually gave up hope. However, nine years later, her daughter-in-law found the ring wrapped around a carrot in the garden. The ring had apparently fallen off Mary’s finger and was picked up by the carrot as it grew. The story was reported by BBC News, among others.
One of the most fundamental reasons why these success stories are few and far between is because lost and found historically has been incredibly fragmented; consumers have not had a dominant go-to lost and found platform that has achieved mass adoption. From our recent study, we learned that 85% of consumers don’t know of a platform for recovering lost items. So, as a result, many may post on Facebook or the old-fashioned Craigslist, or even on community platforms like Reddit and Nextdoor that are not specifically for lost and found in desperation to get their item back.
As Boomerang continues to establish our industry dominance, lost and found will no longer be fragmented, and these successfully found item stories will no longer be such a long shot.
Skyler Logsdon
CEO, Boomerang
