Found: The caretaker of lost things

By Mei Wang

Keith Schauer knows what Syracuse University students have lost. And he knows what they have found.

He runs the lost and found property office at the university’s Department of Public Safety. It’s fulfilling, he says.

“I enjoy being able to get their property back when they (students) lose something,” said Schauer.

Every day during the school year, he handles four or five items that students have lost. He enjoys reuniting students with their misplaced possessions.

“It keeps me working all the day…but they always come very thankful and I feel happy about that too,” he said.

Lost things sometimes lead to interesting connections, he said.

Last October, Schauer found a wallet with a large amount of money. The owner turned out to be the husband of  famous singer Joanne Shenandoah, who shared the stage with the Dalai Lama at SU in October. Her husband lost his wallet at the concession stand at the Carrier Dome. Schauer said Shenandoah sent him one of her albums to say thanks.