What do cops do when they find an abandoned car?

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

In the US, they'd check the vehicle registration assuming it's in the car, ditto insurance papers. They'd also check the license plate. They'd track down the owner before looking of next of kin.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Generally police will not deal with a car unless they have a reason to. The parking authority will ticket it and eventually impound it. To the best fo my knowledge, in the absence of suspicious circumstances there may be no formal effort made to contact the owner.

Run the tag (registration) and/or VIN. Determine ownership; run the owner for wants/warrants. If it's a crime scene, the car may be evidence so treat it and the immediate area as such (assigned detectives take over); if not, tow to an impound site and notify the owner. If the owner/operator is a suspected victim of foul play (bear or otherwise) it's treated as a crime scene and any notifications are up to the investigator in charge (pursuant to agency procedures/protocols).

They would run the plates and VIN to see if it is a stolen/missing car or if the owner has a warrant out or is a missing person. If nothing comes up then they would ticket it.

I know in some parts of the country they mark it with a sign and the first tow truck driver to see a car with one of these signs gets to take it. If no one claims it inside a certain period of time they have it re-keyed and auctioned off.

If they find it's a missing person then they would search the area and try to figure out why the car was abandoned. If it's a stolen vehicle then they would either

A. return it to the owner.
B. Enact 'Civic Asset Forfeiture' and sell it to boost the department's budget. (I am not joking about that. It's a US set of laws)

First, approach the car very carefully, and check to make sure there isn't a bear taking a nap inside.

By the way, cops don't look for bears. That's a game warden's job.

Every state has them, under different names and agencies. In Florida it's Fish and Wildlife, Maine is the Maine Warden Service, etc. They have police powers and could do all the preliminary work, but if it's a crime scene and not related to wildlife, it gets handed to the locals. Or state in some cases.

Otherwise, IronMike has it perfect, at least as it would work in Florida. Next of kin may be the last thing that gets notified, unless they own the vehicle. If it ties to a missing person case or death investigation (i.e, it's registered to the missing guy...), the detective handling the case would be notified and he would often notify the family to see if it helps his case (They might know his habits, what might be missing from the car, etc.)

It all depends on what your story line needs.

Jeff