WINK call-a-thon helps return over $269K in unclaimed money and property

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) – In just two hours, WINK News helped return over $269,000 in unclaimed property and money to viewers who called into our ‘Find Your Money Now’ call-a-thon on Thursday.

That dollar amount continues to climb, with a final tally expected to come out next week.

“A lot of people are very appreciative and they actually want to thank WINK News for this because they’re very appreciative, love you guys, love what you did,” Florida’s Unclaimed Property Assistant Division Director Phillip Carlton said.

As of March, data from Florida’s Unclaimed Property Division shows nearly $130 million dollars of property and money sits unclaimed in Lee County alone. In Collier County, more than $80 million sits unclaimed, and more than $36 million is waiting to be claimed by residents in Charlotte County.

For one Arcadia woman who came to our WINK Listens event in Arcadia on Tuesday, claiming what belonged to her made a major difference.

Last year, Kay Fizell says her world turned upside down after her husband, Mike, passed away.

“As soon as you think you have everything planned, everything done, he had cancer and it went very fast,” Fizell said.

Suddenly, Fizell says she had to learn how to live alone. While grieving, she had to step up and pay bills.

“You got to get your taxes filed, you go to do this, you know, all these little things,” she said.

The pressure began to build until suddenly, Fizell says a miracle happened.

She received a letter in the mail from the State of Florida, saying she had unclaimed life insurance money.

“He [Mike] had an insurance dividend that had never been paid out, one for myself, as well as for my husband,” she said. “From there, I filled out the paperwork. I did it online and it was very, very easy.”

Two months later, Fizell says she got a check for $3,300. It was enough to pay for her husband’s funeral and lay him to rest in the way a veteran and firefighter deserves.

“He was eventually buried at Sarasota National Cemetery under military honors,” she said. 

If you want to find out whether you have unclaimed property or money waiting for you, you can search yourself on the Florida Division of Unclaimed Property’s website.

If you are someone who called into our ‘Find Your Money’ call-a-thon, we want to hear from you. Email WINK Smart Anchor Claire Galt at claire.galt@winknews.com and let her know how much money you claimed.