When I moved back home from college about 16-17 years ago, I misplaced my hunting knife. Nothing special...just a plain ol' Buck Model 105 fixed-blade. It had been given to me by my parents for my tenth birthday, along with my first shotgun. In the 9 or 10 years before I lost it, I used it to clean at least 20 deer and quite a few rabbits and squirrels.
Back about mid-August my mother called and asked me if I had ever found my knife. She said she had found one like it when she was cleaning out the attic. She gave it to me the next day, and sure 'nuff, it was the one I had lost so many years ago.
Good luck? Only time will tell...