Bava Kamma 114 - Objects That The Owners Despaired to Retrieve (Torts)
If (illegitimate) customs collectors confiscated someone's donkey but then, out of compassion, gave him an inferior one, or if bandits seized his garment and gave him another garment, they are his because it may be assumed that their owners have despaired of retrieving them. However, if he wants to return these out of piety, he can return them to the original owners and not the robbers.
In the case of one who rescues things from a river or from bandits, if it is known that the owners have despaired of retrieving them, they are his.
Art: A Pat For The Donkey by Charles Hunt
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