Sunglasses, cell phones, the favorite teddy bear or piles of cat hair; it's all too easy to leave something behind when traveling. From the ordinary and expected to the absolutely bizarre and sometimes disgusting, car rental providers get a candid glimpse into the lives of travelers and have some shocking lost and found stories.
Complete Human Skeleton
One young car rental office employee in Seattle, Washington was in a state of disbelief when he found what he thought were human remains in the boot of a Toyota Camry. Mrs. Nany, as the skeleton was called, was a classroom learning tool and one-time stage prop for a school play. Looking like an exhumed body straight from the grave, the appearance of the skeleton, made to look dirty and with tattered clothing, sent the 22 year old Seattle employee assigned to clean out the rental car of a local drama teacher back into the rental office screaming.
Crystal Ball and Tarot Cards
One unfortunate fortune teller left their crystal ball in the glove compartment of her hired car in Luton, England, as well as a deck of very well-worn tarot cards.
Toupee
The well-kept toupee was found on the arm rest of the rear row seats. When contacted, the last customer to reserve the vehicle claimed to have no knowledge of the toupee, and said it had to have belonged to one of his clients.
Diamond Engagement Ring
“I’m not sure why I even opened the box, I don’t like chocolate,” said the employee who found a diamond engagement ring while cleaning out a car rental in Texas, USA. Feeling that the box was not empty he took a quick peek inside just before tossing it in a nearby dumpster, and to his great surprise the chocolates appeared to be entirely untouched, except for one of the center candies, which had been replaced with a ring.
A Glass Eye
Discovered rolling around the floorboards of an estate car in Manchester, England, the glass eye was very realistic and no children’s toy. Though it raised many questions, the story behind the eye was never told as neither the most recent renter of the vehicle nor the one previous claimed this very odd item.
Suitcase Full of Cash
The small suitcase, left in a rental near Heathrow Airport, was found to contain several thousand pounds in cash. Promptly returned to its owner who missed their flight in coming to retrieve it, the suitcase full of cash officially remains a mystery though there is much speculation among the rental office agents.
Batman Costume
The very odd, adult-sized batman mask was stashed inside the console of a car hire in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Mississippi State Mud Wrestling Championship, 2nd Place
A trophy might not sound like an outrageous item to be left in a car rental, but I’m sure the story behind it was! The runner-up of the Mississippi State Mud Wrestling Championship might not add how they “forgot their trophy in the car” to their mud wrestling victory story.
Man’s Best Friend
An elderly, sleeping terrier mix was found in the boot of a 4×4 car rental in Charlotte, North Carolina. The street dog, who had accidentally hitched a ride from the beach, was as surprised as the rental office employees when he found himself several hours away from home.
Outrageous False Teeth
Hopefully part of a prank and not actually someone’s forgotten, everyday dentures; the outrageous set of false teeth found in a Las Vegas, Nevada car rental contained real, semi-precious stones!
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
