My only adventure along these lines was when when I was a kid and we visited old family friends who had a small grocery store. The lady was till bummed out, because she had lost the solitaire diamond out of her engagement ring a few weeks back.
While the “old folks” played Canasta, I entertained myself by sitting on the stoop and picking through the stuff that had been swept out the back door.
I found her diamond — and I thought I was going to be hugged to death! ‘-)