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Manchester, NH Police To Auction Off Evidence

MANCHESTER, NH (CBS) - Designer handbags, diamond rings and electronics are just some of the high priced items that wind up in a police station evidence room.

In Manchester, New Hampshire, that evidence room is overflowing.

Sgt. Stephen Reardon says, "We have roughly about 170,000 case related items in our system somewhere along the chain."

So the department has decided to auction off their stash of goods on a website called PropertyRoom.com.

"We have some really big beautiful televisions up there that I would like to see someone enjoying instead of sitting around gathering dust," says Reardon.

The items are only sold if police can't track down the owners, a common problem since many of the items are stolen.

"If we have an owner we will make every reasonable effort to notify the owner before we even think about selling or destroying any item of property," says Reardon.

If the owner doesn't respond, their loss becomes Manchester's gain and a bargain hunter's dream.

PropertyRoom.com takes a cut of the proceeds, but Manchester Police think they will still bring in a lot of cash. That money goes directly into the city's general fund.

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