Mary Pitman

When Mary Pitman gave her friend, Linda, information about unclaimed property, the friend nearly cried. "Mary, I've been getting calls and letters from atto eys and businesses saying I had money but they wouldn't tell me anything unless I gave them a lot of money," Linda said. "I was determined to find this on my own but didn't know where to begin."

Mary realized Linda was not alone. There were others who didn't know where to begin.

She decided to write a little book filled with search tips she developed over several years. But then she began finding other free to search/free to claim sites. When she found sites for unclaimed child support, she knew she was going to have to expand the book.

"People have always told me I should write a book," Mary said. "I never saw it happening. But this project was different. It can impact people I will never know about in ways I never imagined. And I wanted to do what I could to make sure that people like Linda never have to pay a ransom to get their own money."