A system for recovering a manufactured article is disclosed. The system includes
an electronic reader that reads a unique code associated with the manufactured
article when that article is within range of the reader. The unique code may be
based on a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag positioned with the manufactured
article. The reader may be positioned with a facility associated with retrieval
of misplaced or reposed consumer items, or within a community. A database may store
records of unique codes and information related to owners of manufactured articles.
The database may be downloaded to a local cache. The database also may be queried
based on the unique code. The owner of the item may be determined based on a match
of a unique code read by the reader to a record in the database. The database may
be accessed through an open-network connection to a computerized network.