Nearly $15 million of unclaimed property is owed to residents of Lycoming County.

State Treasurer Stacy Garrity said more than $14.8 million in unclaimed property is owed to this county’s residents.

“One of my top priorities is to return unclaimed property to Pennsylvanians,” Garrity said.

“I’m glad to safeguard these funds, but this money doesn’t belong to the state — it belongs to our hard-working taxpayers,” she said.

The average claim is worth $1,600 and that can really make a difference, especially in today’s economy, for families trying to make ends meet, Garrity said.

Last year the Treasury returned more than $211 million in unclaimed property, the third most ever in a single year. More than $4 billion remains available to be claimed.

Unclaimed property includes items such as dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, and insurance policies.

State law requires businesses to report unclaimed property to the Treasury after three years of dormancy.

Unclaimed property can also include tangible property, such as jewelry or other valuables stored in abandoned safe deposit boxes.

Tangible property may be auctioned by the Treasury after 3 years of trying to locate the rightful owner.

All auction proceeds are available in perpetuity for the rightful owner to claim.

The Treasury encourages people to search for themselves, families and friends at the state Treasury website.

To see if you have money waiting, search the Treasury unclaimed property database at pa treasury.gov/unclaimed- property. If you have money available it’s easy to start the claims process online.

The Treasury often receives military decorations and memorabilia as unclaimed property, usually from safety posit boxes, and works diligently to find the veterans who earned them or their families. Military decorations and memorabilia are never auctioned.

Since taking office, Garrity has returned 337 military decorations and memorabilia, including for Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars. About 500 military decorations remain in the treasury’s vault, including two associated with Lycoming County.

Anyone wanting to help the treasury find the rightful owners can visit patreasury.gov/unclaimed- property/metals.