635.31—Lost, abandoned, or unclaimed property.
This is personal property that comes into the possession, custody, or control of the Army and is unclaimed by the owner. Property is considered to be abandoned only after diligent effort has been made to determine and locate its owner, the heir, next of kin, or legal representative. A military person who is ordered overseas and is unable to dispose of their personal property should immediately notify their chain-of-command. The commander will appoint a board to rule on the disposition of the property. If a law enforcement agency takes custody of the property it will be tagged and a record made as shown in paragraph (a) of this section. A report will be made to the installation commander who will take action in accordance with DOD 4160.21-M, chapter 4, paragraph 40, Defense Materiel Disposition Manual. Pending board action under DOD 4160.21-M, the law enforcement agency having physical custody is responsible for the safekeeping of seized property. The following procedures should be used:
(a)
Property will be tagged using DA Form 4002 (Evidence/Property Tag) or clearly identified by other means, inventoried, and made a matter of record. These records are kept by the custodian of the property.
(b)
Lost, abandoned, or unclaimed property will be kept in a room or container separate from one used to store property held as evidence. Records or logs of property not held as evidence will be separated from those pertaining to evidence. However, all property will be tagged, accounted for, and receipted for in a similar manner as evidence.
(c)
Property that has been properly identified through board action under DOD 4160.21-M as having an owner will be segregated and tagged with the name of that person.
(d)
Abandoned or unclaimed property will be held until its status can be determined. In many instances, lost property can be returned to the owner upon presentation of proof of ownership.