Rick Vanden Eynden didn't come to the police auction with anything particular in mind. Mostly he came looking for a bargain. And he found it.

        A statue. A very heavy one. A saint, apparently.

        “I'm not exactly sure what saint this is,” he said as he examined the statue, for which he paid $45.

        Was it a bargain?

        “Absolutely. These things are fairly expensive.”

        Mr. Vanden Eynden of Colerain Township was one of about 600 people who showed up Saturday morning at the Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center downtown for the Cincinnati Police Department's spring auction of unclaimed property.

        The convention center floor of Hall A was lined with bicycles, while electronics, tools, jewelry, tires, auto supplies, compact discs, radios, televisions and Mr. Vanden Eynden's statue were arranged on tables.

        People wanting to bid on the items arrived an hour before the 11 a.m. auction to examine the property. The police auction is held twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall. Money generated by the auction goes into the city's general fund.

        “It's property that was unclaimed,” said Cincinnati Police Lt. Ken Finan. “It's property that was held for court, property that was found, property where the owners never came to claim it.”

        Mr. Vanden Eynden said he plans to give the statue to his mother to put in her garden. He gazed at the statue.

        “Who would steal a saint?” he wondered.

        Oren Kidd of Williamsburg came looking for a bargain in electronics but couldn't pass up on a pair of bicycles, one a Huffy and the other a Roadmaster. He paid $65 for both of them and walked them to the back of the hall.

        “That's a good price for this one alone,” he said of the Huffy. “This other one is a bonus.”

        Rich Kruer of Fort Thomas paid $55 for what he thinks is a video projector of some sort. It came in a large carrying case.

        “Well, $50 for anything these days is a good deal,” said Mr. Kruer. “And this bag is nice. We can store a tent in there.”

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