Concertgoers retrieving belongings left behind

More than 100 8-foot-long plastic tables fill the south hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center, displaying the lost belongings of those who fled the Route 91 Harvest music festival shooting Oct. 1.

Authorities have declined requests to photograph the collection of left-behind items, citing concerns about the privacy of concertgoers returning to pick them up. But Las Vegas Deputy Fire Chief John Steinbeck described it Tuesday at a news conference at the Family Assistance Center set up inside the convention center.

In the past two days, Steinbeck said, about 160 people had visited the center and had been reunited with their phones, cowboy hats, wallets and other miscellaneous items. An unknown number of additional items were mailed to concertgoers who had departed Las Vegas, he said.

FBI officials have categorized the items and divided them by the section of the concert area where they were left behind, Steinbeck said.

By Tuesday morning, officials had cleared area C of the venue, where most items were found. The venue was split into six sections, and areas A and B were processed by Sunday and Monday, respectively.

Outside of returning lost belongings, the center has helped nearly 1,100 people with mental health counseling, victim advocacy, legal aid and other services.

Jessie Bekker