Leftovers Take Off in Tampa International Airport Auction

Maybe she was washing her hands when she slid off the heart-shaped ring crusted in diamonds, then turned her back to catch a plane. Maybe he was too tipsy to care when he dropped the blue plastic beer yard in the concourse. Maybe they never know these things would land in a Tampa International Warehouse full of mysteries and untold stories, alongside rumpled socks, board games and baby strollers, boxed, bagged and tagged for the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority's Lost and Abandoned Property Auction. The sale happens three of four times a year on govdeals.com, a kind of eBay for governments. These are not bags left on luggage belts or lost in connections. The airlines handle those. These are coats left of chair backs, laptops left at cafes, suitcases left unattended despite those gentle warnings that chime from the airport loudspeakers.