{"data":{"id":"us-me/25-m.r.s.-3503","jurisdiction":"us-me","citation":"25 M.R.S. §3503","heading":"Sale of unclaimed property","body":"If the identity or location of the owner or other person entitled to possession of the property has not been ascertained within 6 months after the law enforcement agency obtains such possession, or said identity has been determined and such person does not claim possession within this 6-month period, and the finder of such property, if any, has not claimed it pursuant to the provisions of section 3507 within 15 days after the expiration of said 6-month period, the principal official thereof shall effectuate the sale of the property for cash to the highest bidder at a public auction, notice of which, including time, place and a brief description of such property, shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county wherein such official has authority at least 10 days prior to such auction or in the state paper in the case of a state law enforcement agency. Property offered but not sold at such public auction may be offered and sold at a subsequent public auction without further notice, donated to a nonprofit organization or charity or disposed of as waste.\nA law enforcement agency shall appropriately and properly dispose of as waste any property that poses a possible health risk.\nAt no time may any property that has been disposed of by a law enforcement agency as waste be owned or personally used by any member of a law enforcement agency or by any immediate family member of any member of a law enforcement agency.","path":["TITLE 25: INTERNAL SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY","PART 9: LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN GENERAL","CHAPTER 401: DISPOSAL OF UNCLAIMED, LOST OR STOLEN PERSONAL PROPERTY BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES"],"source_url":"https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/25/title25sec3503.html","current_through":"January 1, 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-04T15:12:34Z","sha256":"df6a98d6d4e4c4b1485b49a752abc6ac11de54ac7a7d5de246227e6a66879a42","source_id":"us-me","stale":false,"prev":"us-me/25-m.r.s.-3502","next":"us-me/25-m.r.s.-3503-a"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}