Lost articles, as well as lost article reports are kept in the station they were found or filed for 1 week. After that, the items and reports are forwarded to Central Lost and Found in MSP where theoretically (SP?) everything is matched up -- if there is a report filed.

Not a perfect system but considering over 400 aircraft and almost as many airports that an item can be left in/on, it works reasonably well. One note: if an item is thought to be lost in an airport, one should file a report with the airport directly as that is normally where an item is sent if found in the terminal.