State Treasurer John Perdue’s office is distributing unclaimed property inserts in newspapers from Huntington to Martinsburg, in hopes that people who find their names will file claims as rightful owners.

Distribution began this week in the largest newspaper in each county. The final week’s distribution will begin on Oct. 5, capping off a three-week period that will see 376,000 copies spread across the state.

All of the approximately 13,000 names have never been published before and came into the Treasurer’s custody in the past year.

“We typically have nice success with the inserts, which is a testament to the symbiotic relationship we have with the state’s print media,” Treasurer Perdue said. “Twice a year, publication of the inserts kicks off a flurry of activity that keeps our staff hopping.”

Anyone who sees his or her name or that of a friend or relative should go to www.wvtreasury.com or call 1-800-642-8687. Electronic filing is available on the website and works especially well with simple, single-owner claims. In such cases all a rightful owner need do is type in his or her driver’s license and social security numbers.

Treasurer Perdue’s office has returned approximately $140 million to rightful owners during his 18 years in office. He immediately made the unclaimed property return a priority upon taking office in January of 1997.

“As I’ve said many times before, this is the people’s money and we want to return it to them,” the Treasurer said. “That’s why we do things like this.”