Donna Owens, director of the Ohio Department of Commerce, and Elaine L. Willibey, Williams County Treasurer, announced today that the department’s Division of Unclaimed Funds will be setting up its “Treasure Hunt” display at the Williams County Fair in Montpelier. The department will be hosted by the Treasurer's Office at the booth located under the south end of the grandstand.

The "Treasure Hunt" will be open on Saturday, September 12 from 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. and Sunday, September 13 from noon to 7:30 p.m. Fairgoers, who cannot stop by on Saturday or Sunday, can visit Treasurer Willibey's office during regular business hours to check their name against a computer printout of the Williams County unclaimed funds accounts. The Treasurer's Office, which is located at One Courthouse Square in Bryan, is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

The Treasure Hunt program gives thousands of Ohioans each year an opportunity to check their names for unclaimed funds. The division's outreach efforts helped the division return more than $21 million last fiscal year to current and former residents of Ohio.

"The division currently holds 2,722 unclaimed funds accounts worth $148,567 for current or former residents of Williams County," Director Owens said. "Residents from any county can stop by the Treasure Hunt to find out immediately if any of these funds belong to them."

Common sources of unclaimed funds include: dormant checking and savings accounts, forgotten rent and utility deposits, uncashed checks, undelivered stock certificates, uncashed insurance policies, forgotten layaway deposits, and safe deposit box contents.

Individuals who would like to check their names for unclaimed funds can also check the Internet or write to the Division of Unclaimed Funds at 77 South High Street, 20th Floor, Columbus, OH 43266-0545. Individuals who write to the Division should provide the full name to be researched, along with the Ohio counties in which the person may have resided. Unclaimed Funds Chief Jessie Baker encourages current and former Ohio residents to visit the Department of Commerce's Internet site at www.com.state.oh.us to check if they have unclaimed funds waiting to be claimed.

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