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There’s nothing quite like starting the year with a fortuitous find, and that’s just what happened to one reader here in Natchez.

Quite often we publish Mississippi Treasurer David McRae’s columns about unclaimed property (read: money) available to residents of Mississippi. He writes about the millions of dollars due to residents in Mississippi – back pay, rebates, checks lost in the mail that were never delivered – the genesis of the funds is a varied as you can imagine. And the amounts are wide ranging, from less than $25 to thousands of dollars. And while many readers skim over the columns or don’t take the time to investigate, one man here in Natchez did just that – and he walked away with more than $500.

Bennie called me one afternoon to talk about his experience. “I wanted to thank you for putting that information in the paper,” he said. “I didn’t know I was owed money.”

He saw the column and, on a lark, went to the website and searched his name. He found it, and then called the phone number listed to ask about the listing. “The woman told me that it was money from 2017, that was withheld from me for some reason,” he said. “She said that by law, the money has to be held by the company for five years then it is turned over to the state treasury if it hasn’t been claimed.”

Bennie said he had no idea why his former employer would owe him money, and when the friendly clerk offered to look up the details, he was shocked.

“She said it was more than $500,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. I have no idea what they owed me that money for – whether it was a bonus or something – I just don’t know.”

But the clerk walked Bennie through the claims process, which involves completing forms and providing proof of identity.

“She said normally it can take up to four or five months to process the claims, because they’re running behind,” he said. “But she called me last week and told me my claim had been processed, and the check was being mailed out.”

And on Monday, he had that check in his hand.

“I’m sitting here looking at it – $539.99,” he said, emphasizing “and 99 cents.”

Returning unclaimed funds has been a mission of McRae’s since taking office. In November 2024, he announced that more than $1 million was being returned to Mississippi residents through the unclaimed money division. And during his tenure the division has literally returned millions of dollars to state residents.

The process to claim is simple. You can search at visit treasury.ms.gov/search to see if you have any unclaimed funds available.

“When I searched, I saw several other people with my last name listed in the Natchez area,” Bennie said. “I wonder if they know they have money out there?”

The website walks a user through the claims process and additional help is available by calling (601) 359-3600 or emailing unclaimed@treasury.ms.gov.

Bennie is so excited about the find that he encouraged us to continue to share information to our readers.

“People don’t know they’re owed money or who it’s from,” he said. “Maybe you could put something else in the paper and tell them to check it out. They might show up on the list.”

And Bennie’s story proves you have nothing to lose – and possibly something important – to gain.

Stacy G. Graning is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. Contact her at stacy.graning@natchezdemocrat.com