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By Greg Bartlett

Have you ever accidentally left something behind in a store, taxi, train, or theater – or someplace else? Most people do, often because they’re too busy thinking about something else. If they remember in time, they can turn around and retrieve the item before they get very far. But what if the item is valuable? My brother once left a pocket PC behind in a classroom, and by the time he remembered it and headed back – within five minutes – it was gone. Sometimes valuable lost items are never recovered if the finder isn’t honest enough to search for the true owner.

For example, a violinist accidentally lost a pair of violins, worth around $70,000 total, in a train in New York City last week. So far, they have not been recovered since whoever found them doesn’t seem to want to return them. However, another violinist has a better story when he left a $500,000 violin in the back of a New York City taxi a few days ago.

The violinist was tired and forgot about the instrument, and by the time he remembered, he had no idea where the cab was. He called 311 and eventually was connected with a detective, who called the cab company. Together, the cab company and the detective were able to use GPS tracking to find out which taxi the violinist had taken, and where the taxi was now. Within just a few minutes, they were able to contact the cab driver and recover the expensive violin.

While GPS tracking in the taxi enabled the violinist to recover the $500,000 violin, individuals should consider putting GPS devices on their own possessions, especially expensive ones. Knowing where the object is that originally contained the lost item – such as a taxi, in this instance – is only helpful if the lost item has not been moved yet. If another customer had used the taxi, the violin would probably have been stolen and never recovered. GPS tracking on individual items would protect valuables from becoming lost by allowing owners to locate the mislaid item and monitor any movement it makes while the owner tries to retrieve it.

If you’re like most people and forget to collect all your belongings occasionally, GPS tracking may be the best way for you to protect your possessions – especially the valuable ones that a finder may want to keep rather than return to you. Make sure your items are lost and found – by you.