Oregon City police: Claim your property before it goes to auction
OREGON CITY, Ore. - The Oregon City Police Department is trying to get the word out about their property room auctions.
Since they only hold non-evidence - such as lost or stolen property - for 90 days before sending them to auction, Property Officer Autumn Wilson can't stress enough how important it is for Oregon City residents to have an up-to-date address on file with the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
"If we know who the owner of the property is, we usually use DMV to obtain an address, then send them a letter after the first 30 days," said Wilson. "Then after 90 days if the property in question has not been claimed, then we give those items over to Propertyroom.com."
Propertyroom.com, based out of Seattle, accepts auction items from the Oregon City Police three to four times a year depending on need. According to Wilson, the items range in value from $5 to $200 and between 50-100 items are auctioned off each time.
With the rare exception, the sad reality is that Officer Wilson doesn't receive many calls from Oregon City residents asking about stolen or missing property.
"They either just don't think to call us or in the case of inmates, they don't realize they can designate someone to claim their items," said Wilson.
Auction hounds looking for deals on old police vehicles or weapons, including firearms, will be sorely disappointed as the Oregon City Police Department does not send those types of items to Propertyroom.com.
Instead, Zukula Beal, an auction house located in Portland, handles decommissioned vehicles, while weapons of any kind are destroyed in an incinerator just outside of Albany.