I would probably keep the item unless is was a briefcase full of money, in which case I would turn it into the authorities and wait for somebody to claim it. Jewelry and other such items I wouldn’t have any issues with keeping, since the previous owner would probably never be reunited with it anyway. Who the item belonged to prior and how it was lost would be an intriguing question, chiefly because its one that would almost certainly remain unsolved.
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/finders-keepers/
Pingback: Daily Prompt: Finders, Keepers? – The paths are strewn with souvenirs if you are lucky | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
Pingback: DAILY PROMPT: Finders, Keepers? | Nola Roots, Texas Heart