Roughly $1 million in unclaimed property will automatically be sent to those who live in Mississippi counties impacted by a tornado outbreak earlier this month.
State Treasurer David McRae announced Friday that his office is mailing missing funds to residents in Franklin, Forrest, Jefferson Davis, Lamar, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion, and Wilkinson counties. Usually, residents must use the treasury’s website to search for unclaimed property and, upon finding any funds that belong to them, can request a check.
“I was devastated to hear about recent storms that hit and uprooted countless families,” McRae said. “My team and I did what we could to help. We conducted a pro-active Money Math to storm-impacted areas to reunite those citizens with their missing funds. This money will hit mailboxes of the neighbors who are going through a difficult time.”
Unclaimed money is cash, stocks, or other financial assets that an owner has lost track of. When financial institutions fail to find the rightful owner over a period of five years, the funds are turned over to the state treasury for safekeeping under state law.
McRae reminded that the funds going straight to survivors’ mailboxes do not replace state or federal disaster aid, both of which could be on the way. Gov. Tate Reeves asked the White House earlier this week to approve FEMA relief for both individuals and public entities.
On May 6 and May 7, eight tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down in south Mississippi. The largest of the twisters was an EF-3 that was over a mile wide and was on the ground for approximately 70 miles from Wilkinson County to Lawrence County. 27 people were injured, and more than 425 homes and businesses were either damaged or destroyed by the outbreak.
