RICHMOND, Texas – Hundreds of drivers' licenses, credit and debit cards, social security cards, checkbooks and wallets are now being safely stored at the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office after being discovered at a box in a theater.
"Lots of identifying information," said Detective Matt Cardenas. "You would only need a few pieces there from that puzzle to really make someone's life very difficult."
In the hands of a thief, this information could be used to steal someone's identity or rack up fraudulent charges.
Detectives with the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office tell Channel 2 News, all of the items were found sitting in a box inside the Santikos Palladium movie theater on the Grand Parkway in Richmond.
The items appear to have been lost but never retrieved or returned, which is concerning to Sheriff Troy Nehls.
"You could have a lot of financial crimes taking place as a result of just leaving drivers' licenses and credit cards in a box," said Nehls.
Channel 2 News tracked down one man off an address listed on one of the lost drivers licenses.
Ronald Goodier said he lost his entire wallet, full of cash, back in December.
"It took me about 10 minutes or so to realize it was not in my pocket, so I went to the counter," he said.
Goodier told Channel 2 workers at the Palladium said they hadn't seen it.
Now, there's no sign of the wallet or money, but his license was among the hundreds of others discovered inside the box.
"Oh, it was a nightmare," said Goodier, about having to cancel all of his cards and get new ones issued.
Janice Bunch, chief operating officer for the Santikos Palladium, said it appears lost and found protocol was not followed here.
When items are lost or left behind, employees are trained to bring the items to guest services and they are supposed to secure the items and make an attempt to contact the owners, she said. If the items are not retrieved by the owner within two weeks, the staff is instructed to shred them.
Other personal belongings that are not retrieved are donated monthly or quarterly to charity.
Bunch said the theater has served over 2 million people since opening its doors in 2013. "Among our company's most important core values is unquestionable integrity," she said in a statement.
"We can't speak on what their policy is," said Cardenas. "We do know what they're doing right now is just not safe."
The Sheriff's Office now wants to hear from anyone who may have lost an item at the Palladium or been the victim of fraud as a result.
"We owe it to our citizens that should they lose a credit card or driver's license or wallet that we will do what we can to get that property back to them," said Sheriff Nehls. "It's a service we're going to provide as a result of what we discovered here."
If you believe you lost an item at the Palladium theater or became the victim of a financial crime as a result, call the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office at 281-341-4624.