Hundreds of St. Lawrence County residents and local governments may have money waiting for them from nearly $3 million in unclaimed funds.

Senator Patty Ritchie (R-Heuvelton) says she is working to reunite owners to their lost funds and some area local governments, with money they may not even know they were missing.

At Sen. Ritchie’s request, the state Office of Unclaimed Funds created a list of abandoned or forgotten accounts. Ritchie represents the 48th Senate district, which covers northern St. Lawrence County, including Ogdensburg, Canton, Gouverneur, Oswegatchie, Waddington, Lisbon, Madrid, Louisville, DeKalb, DePeyster, Hermon, Edwards, Fowler, Rossie, Macomb, Morristown and Hammond.

The funds are usually old bank accounts, rent or utility deposits, gift cards and other type of accounts; that the state is holding with owners’ addresses in the three counties she represents.

“By law, the state holds onto the funds in these accounts until they are claimed by their rightful owners,” Ritchie said. “The problem is that most people don’t even know that they are missing money, and they don’t know where to look to find it.”

In Senator Ritchie’s district there are reportedly 10,385 accounts valued at $2,823,847 in St. Lawrence County.

Each account holds a minimum of $25.

Additionally, Sen. Ritchie requested a list of local governments that might be owed money from the state.

A breakdown of towns, number of accounts and total amount is as follows:

Town Number of Accounts Monetary Amount

Brier Hill 45 $5,338

Canton 1,849 $821,915

Chase Mills 91 $21,731

DeKalb Junction 140 $40,835

DePeyster 22 $2,788

Edwards 112 $19,521

Gouverneur 1,209 $229,703

Hammond 269 $64,124

Hermon 138 $29,034

Heuvelton 196 $28,844

Madrid 207 $43,909

Massena 2,690 $631,482

Morristown 140 $29,257

Norfolk 419 $92,139

Ogdensburg 2,609 $696,539

Rensselaer Falls 129 $30,014

Richville 120 $36,673

Waddington 217 $51,823

“It’s your money…you just have to ask for it back,” Ritchie said

Sen. Ritchie said she already has contacted every municipality on the list to make them aware that they may be owed money.

Individuals can check for lost accounts through a link on her website at www.ritchie.nysenate.gov.