Returning found gear

[wedivebc]

Although I am more often the finder than the loser of gear I have always tried to locate the owner. One dive shop owner visiting from the US had his fishing license inside a dive light I found. His reaction when I contacted him made me believe it is not common practice to return stuff when you find it.
I just lost one of those cool self inflating lift bags made by AP valves that I brought home from the UK. Fortunately my first name was on it and Ed at Sundown diving told the person who found it that he probably knew who`s it was.

So do you attempt to return gear or take the finders, keepers approach to found goodies?

 

[TMHeimer]

If I found anything that was marked or had a reasonable idea of who lost it I would try to return it. If not, it's mine. I bought several masks over the years but continue to use one I found.

 

[Searcaigh]

If I found something with a name on it I would attempt to return it

 

[tstocum]

If I found something with a name on it I would attempt to return it

+1

I would also contact my LDS and ask if anyone had mentioned losing equipment. I wouldn't feel right keeping something I found if I didn't at least attempt to find the original owner.

 

[CT Sean]

If I found something with a name on it I would attempt to return it

Same here. Also, if I found something that looked recently lost, I'd likely put a little effort into getting it back to it's owner such as post it here, and at a local dive shop.

 

[Peter_C]

Anything valuable I try to return it. If say I found a bolt snap...well I am keeping it. Weight belts that are not marked I keep, as there are too many on the bottom of the ocean in our area.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

If it has a name on it, I'll return it.

If it does not have a name on it, I'll still try to return it. For example I found an SK7 compass and boot and heard at the shop that someone had lost one. I called him and asked him where he thought he lost it at. The area he described was about 40' above where I found it, so it was obviously his.

 

[Guba]

Last spring, my buddy and I were gearing up to dive at a quarry. A fellow climbed onto the pier and announced, "If anyone finds a knife just off the pier, I'd like to get it back." He was an instructor and had students, so it would be a while before he could return to look for it. My buddy and I made our dive and just as we were returning to the pier, I did, indeed, see the knife on the bottom. I retrieved it and it was a nice one...a $200+ titanium model.
After de-gearing, I walked down the shoreline to the instructor's group and asked, "Anyone lose a high-dollar titanium knife?"
"I did!" called the instructor.
"Great!" I responded. "Would you like to sell a sheath?"

Yes, of course I returned the knife to him.

 

[yodelhawk]

Found a camera bag with a video camcorder and some medication on the banks of the Missouri River one time. The guys name was on the meds so as we went floating down, every time we came into shouting distance of a raft I called out the name. About 2 miles down the river a guys answers me with a very hostile shout, pissed off that I disturbed his tranquility. You should have seen his mood change when I asked him if he was missing anything and he realized that he left his camera on the side of the river. He almost fell out of his raft thanking me and told me what a good man I was! BTW... The meds in the bag... were psych meds.

 

[emoreira]

Many times I´ve found dive hard weights. The standard size down here in South America is 4 pounds (2 kilos). It depends, if it´s in the beginning of the dive, I leave it there to be found by another diver, but if it´s at the end I take it and return to the LDS, no matter if the weight is of his property.
Once I´ve found a black silicone mask. It was encrusted with shellfish, meaning that it was there since long. I kept it for me.
Recently, I´ve found a snorkel, and when I came back to the boat and was climbing the stairs, another diver came when he saw that I had a snorkel hanging from my BCD thankfully saying that he had lost it when he entered the water in the previous dive.
An lately, I´ve found a plastic Alu tank boot. I have no tank, so I gave it to the LDS.