Every week, thousands of objects are lost on the Montreal metro.
They can include everything from cell phones to books to briefcases.
All of those trinkets end up at Berri-UQAM Station, where the STM’s Lost and Found is located.
“Per week we receive 1000 objects,” said Estelle Filiatreault, an employee with the transit agency.
The items in the Lost and Found vary by season.
During back to school season, lunchboxes, and backpacks are the most-common finds.
In the winter, it’s hats, scarves, and gloves.
But every now and then, more-pricey items show up.
“Some of [the people] are stressed,” Filiatreault said. “If it’s a purse, the person sometimes cries.”
Sometimes, bigger objects come in.
Earlier in September, a wheelchair was turned in.
“Maybe two or three per year,” she said.
If there’s no clear way to contact an object’s owner, it’s placed on a shelf.
Those who come to the counter to retrieve their items are asked for a description.
After three weeks, hats and gloves are sent to charities, while other objects are recycled.
Roughly 10 percent of all items are reclaimed.
“When you look at the object you say, ‘Oh my god, this person maybe really needs this object and she lost it,’” she said.
“So it's really sad for the person. So I wish for the person to call or to pass by and come pick it up.”
