Lost item

"I picked up a lost item! ... I wonder if someone dropped this. Maybe I should look for the owner and return it?" —Animal Crossing: New Leaf

The Lost Item is an item which appears in the town in New Leaf and New Horizons. If the owner is not found, it becomes a trash item but in turn it can be displayed inside the player's house.

Lost items are randomly generated in a town and appear on a random spot. Once picked up, the player will reveal it is lost and that it should be returned. The owner of the item is always one of the resident villagers.

In New Leaf[]

Lost items occur in multiple variations: a bag with a bear face, a mitten, a book, or a blue pouch with yellow string. After two days have passed, the item's name will change from "lost item" to its specific name (e.g. "mitten") and it is able to be dropped, mailed, or disposed of.

To discover the owner, all villagers must be spoken to until the owner is found. Once approached, the option to ask the villager if they have lost an item will appear as a conversation option. If the villager does not own it, they will tell the player to keep looking.

Once the player has found the owner, the villager will reward the player with an item for finding it, such as furniture or clothing, or occasionally, fruit, even possibly the neighbor's picture too.

If the item is brought to Copper/Booker they will inform the player that it was good that they brought the item in but they cannot leave their post. They will then ask the player to find the owner of the item.

In Pocket Camp[]

Lost items were added to Pocket Camp via an update. Unlike other games, the lost items' owner doesn't have to be searched for. If a villager wants to talk to the player and the player does so, they will sometimes say that they lost an item. If the player offers to find it, that villager will give a hint on what the villager was doing at a location when they lost the item. In the event that the player manages to somehow hunt down the lost item without being informed beforehand, that lost item's owner will approach the player and have a different line of dialogue. Lost items are now labeled as such like "lost book" for example. They can also now be found by shaking trees or fishing, and new items that can be lost were introduced, such as a bottle. When the player finds the item and returns to the campsite, they will be rewarded, and the player will gain Heart Points.

In New Horizons[]

In New Horizons, when lost items are picked up they can be inspected by the player, to receive a hint at who the owner is. If the player is at least 'good friends' with the owner of the item, the villager will reveal details to help determine the owner. Otherwise, picking up the item will merely note that "someone lost this...". Returning a lost item to the correct owner without showing it to another villager first will result in a better reward. Returning a lost item without being asked to do so first will result in additional friendship points.

Depending on the personality of the owner, inspecting an item will result in different dialog.

Lost items
Personality	Book	Notebook	Bag1	Bag2
Cranky	There are lots of pictures of potted trees inside. It looks like an introductory guide to bonsai trees.	An old planner that's seen plenty of wear and tear. The last page has tally marks... They are up to 12 now.	A sturdy, old-fashioned sort of bag. It gets full points for utility and zero points for style.	This classic pouch was built with functionality in mind, nothing more. It's the work of a craftsman. Maybe.
Jock	This book is hard to read. The pages are warped, like they've gotten wet before. I think it's an exercise book.	Somebody scribbled something on the cover in pencil. Looks like it reads, "xtreme xercises"?	A very simple bag...that's a tad open. I spot some gym clothes, I think.	A dusty, well-used bag. It vaguely smells like those minty sports creams that athletes use.
Lazy	A well-used, well-loved picture book. There are little broken bits of candy between the pages...	This looks like someone's diary. Is this stain from drool? Maybe they fell asleep on it while writing.	This pouch is stuffed with something that smells delicious and is probably full of sugar.	This pouch looks like it's starting to tear in places. It's a little sticky too. Did someone spill juice on it?
Normal	This novel looks really difficult. It's the kind of book only a voracious reader would think to pick up.	It reads "My Journal" in tiny letters on the cover. It's hard not to, but I probably shouldn't peek inside.	An adorable handcrafted bag with something hard and rectangular inside. Maybe it's a book?	A bag with a simple design. I can tell it was painstakingly made by hand.
Peppy	It's a comic. There's a girl with big, sparkling eyes on the cover. She's probably the hero.	It's an autograph book, but it's covered with all kinds of sparkly stickers. It's making my eyes hurt.	A bag made from a soft printed fabric featuring cartoon characters. It's all lumpy from being packed too full.	A snappy bag covered with buttons and pins of different pop stars.
Sisterly	A book with pressed flowers inside. OH! It still has the price sticker on it!	This looks like somebody's notebook. The handwriting is mostly illegible, but I can make out the word "Band."	A stylish bag adorned with gold metal spikes. It's got attitude!	The front of the bag has embroidered lettering in gold thread. The words are..."Bikers Are More Fun."
Snooty	It's one of those love stories that are so popular nowadays. It has a subtle aroma too. Or is that my imagination?	I think it's a personal planner. Every line is filled in with precise, perfect handwriting. Err...I should close this.	Maybe this is someone's makeup bag? It smells like lovely perfume.	A pretty bag that's been well-loved. It looks like it's been customized a number of times.
Smug	It's a novel. The author was obviously trying to be fancy by using lots of foreign words. I don't get it.	The cover of the book says "Mi diario secreto." I get the feeling I shouldn't look inside.	It's a stylish bag. The complex design says more about style than it does about function.	A stylish bag that looks like it could be popular. Whether it actually is popular might depend on the owner...

If the player shows the item to the wrong villager, they will outright tell the player who the owner is, but the reward won't be as good. If the lost item is not returned within the day, it will become a garbage item which can no longer be returned to the owner.