How the state handles abandoned safe deposit boxes

For years, an engraved Purple Heart medal for World War II veteran Edward T. McCabe sat in a Massachusetts safe deposit box.

He died in 1982. His children, who shared ownership of the safe deposit box, also died. Today, it’s one of two Purple Hearts the state‘s Unclaimed Property Division of the Treasurer’s Office is trying to reconnect with its rightful owners.

The majority of the more than $4 billion in property the division handles is money. But there’s also physical property, mostly items from long-abandoned safe deposit boxes, said Mark William Bracken, assistant treasurer and director of the Unclaimed Property Division.

After a year of nonpayment on a safe deposit box, the bank opens it, but holds onto the contents for seven more years. Then it gets turned over to the state.

The materials include gold bars and coins, as well as cremated human remains, illicit love letters between cheating lovers and bags of cat fur, Bracken said.

“People store weird stuff,” Bracken said. “It runs the gamut, what we get.”

The office is the custodian of military medals from more than 50 safe deposit boxes.

The most common item is dull: pens.

The office tries to locate the items’ owners, but if it can’t, the items are sold in an auction.

“For us to sell someone’s property, it’s gone unclaimed for around 10 years,” Bracken said. “Every once in a while do we get a heartbreaking story? Yes, we ended up selling someone’s grandma’s engagement ring,” he said. The person hadn’t paid for the safe deposit box for a decade.

“It’s a rare situation like that. A lot of times, people die and their relatives don’t know there’s a safe deposit box.”

Before items are auctioned on eBay, the department tours to locations around the state, including Springfield, to show off the wares, like gold coins and jewelry.

Appraisers set a minimum value for the items. “It’s not like someone can walk away with an amazing deal,” Bracken said.

The person linked to the safe deposit box is owed the full sale value of the property, Bracken said. The next tour and auction are not yet scheduled.

The division is looking to reunite the two Purple Hearts with families of the honorees.

“Military medals are among the most difficult items to return because neither the Armed Forces nor the federal government maintains a comprehensive list of awardees,” the division said in a statement.

In addition to McCabe’s medal, the office holds one for Joseph Arruda, a World War II staff sergeant who lived in New Bedford and South Dartmouth. He died in 1998. His discharge papers were in the safe deposit box.

If either name is familiar, you can contact the Unclaimed Property Division at 617-367-0000.

Read the original article on MassLive.