Alligator heads, a BMW, jewelry: Auction spans items left at Pittsburgh International Airport

From preserved alligator heads to brand-new Christian Louboutin shoes, two years of personal items left by travelers at Pittsburgh International Airport went up for auction Saturday.

Hundreds of auctiongoers showed up at a heavy equipment garage at the airport to bid on lost, unclaimed and abandoned items from the airport’s lost-and-found at what normally is an annual event.

Last year, only about a dozen cars were auctioned off in an event that was held online because of the covid-19 pandemic.

The auction returned Saturday as a live, in-person event.

“We’re pleased with the turnout so far, especially because we didn’t have it last year,” said Matt Neistein, airport communications manager. He estimated the attendance at 800 to 1,000 people for the three-plus-hour event. Another 300 people registered to bid online.

More than 1,000 pieces of jewelry were on the auction block. But first-time attendee John Kennerly of Greensburg said he felt the jewelry auctioned off was priced “too high.”

Instead, he turned his attention on whether to bid on one of the 10 abandoned cars that included a 2015 Mini Cooper, a BMW, a minivan and several SUVs.

“The automobiles are intriguing to me,” Kennerly said. “How did they get left there?”

Authority officials can’t explain, for sure, the circumstances behind abandoned vehicles. Neistein offered a few possible scenarios, including a traveler dying, being jailed or simply not returning.

“We turn over every stone trying to find owners,” Neistein said.

Items up for sale also included huge pieces of equipment that the airport no longer uses.

The auction began at 10 a.m. Third-time auction participant David Norris of Clinton Township bid on a snowblower as big as the fire truck he stood near while discussing bid strategy with a friend.

All items bought Saturday must be removed within seven days.

“I’m hoping to get a screaming deal to use for my business,” said Norris, who had winning bids during previous airport auctions.

Norris said he was bidding about $5,000 for the machinery.

Items up for auction included rosaries, electronic devices, gaming devices, AirPods, sunglasses, clothing, tools, a rice cooker, musical instruments, canes, yoga mats, Christmas decorations, laptops, watches and boxes and boxes of belts.

“We get lots of those because everyone takes their belts off in the security line,” Neistein said.

And about those alligator heads?

“We think they came from Florida,” Neistein said.

The auction was conducted by Joe R. Pyle Complete Auction and Realty Service. Proceeds from items not owned by the airport authority will benefit the ACAA Charitable Foundation, which assists with the airport’s military lounge, aviation scholarships, workforce development and the Art in the Airport program.

Past auction totals have exceeded $175,000.

Returning auction fan Roger Boehm, 55, of McKeesport had already won nine of his bids by 11 a.m.

“It’s just fun — the bidding — and it’s relatively cheap,” Boehm said.

Boehm said his biggest score Saturday was his winning $400 bid for three iPads.

“I think it’s crazy,” Boehm said of the thousands of diverse items left behind by travelers. “I think they’re in a hurry, maybe have kids and are distracted.”

Before the auction, the airport authority donated several boxes of items, including unclaimed prescription eyeglasses, left longer than 30 days, to Pittsburgh Lions Club and Circles of Greater Pittsburgh, a nonprofit assisting those living in poverty.

“It’s an opportunity to engage the community,” said Neistein, adding the goal of the event is to “sell it all.”