How should one act if he has a debt and cannot find its owner?

Question:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. He says: I have some debts, and I came to ask about their owners, but I did not find them in their shops. I asked many people, but that did not help. What do you advise me to do now? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
We advise you to continue searching for the debt owners and to place an advertisement. Advertise in the newspapers about these people so that they may come and collect their debts, or if they have passed away, so that their heirs may come. It is obligatory for you to search for them, inquire about them, and advertise in the newspapers or in some newspapers so that they may have information and news of where you are and where you are located, and then they may come to take their rights. If it becomes impossible to reach them after searching for them, then you give these debts in charity with the intention that the reward belongs to their owners, and you are thereby rid of the debt. If they come to you after that, or if some of them come to you after you have given it in charity, then you inform them of the reality. If they approve it, praise be to Allah, the reward is theirs, and you are absolved of the debt. If they demand their right, then you pay them, and the previous charity is yours, and its reward is yours. Yes.