More Missourians saying, ’show me money’

It’s a sweet reward, one Jan Carroll never knew about.

"I was very surprised," said Carroll.

She recently received 300 dollars from the state treasurer’s office.

"My dad would always buy property and he would sell it but he’d always maintain the mineral rights. He bought it for the mineral rights and there was a farm here in Missouri which he owned and I think that it’s probably from that," she said.

Missouri law requires businesses to turn over unclaimed property to the state if they haven’t had contact with the owner in five years and it’s not always cash. Sometimes it’s the contents of a safe deposit box. State Treasurer Clint Zweifel has seen it all.

"There’s items like a princess Diana doll that would be in there. Items like a pearl necklace. Lots of different things like that. Family notes that have been left inside," said Zweifel.

This year his office returned a record 75-thousand accounts totaling more than 26 million.

"The economy is really the main story in this and that’s why you see the huge increase," said Zweifel.

But many times the treasurer’s office cannot find the owners.

"We actually interestingly enough have been trying to give back a million dollars to an individual," he said.

After the money poured in for Carroll she says it pays to see if you’re in the mix.

"I definitely encourage people to do this," Carroll said.

To check if you have any unclaimed assets click on the "Newscast Links" tab of our website and there you’ll find a link to the state Treasurer’s site, "Show Me Money."

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