If you find something cool on the ground and take it home with you, is it technically stealing and a crime? Short answer: Yes.
The statute around Theft of Lost or Mislaid Property basically says that if you find something of value, you are required to do your best to get the item to its owner before making any use of it. In full, O.C.G.A. § 16-8-6 reads: “A person commits the offense of theft of lost or mislaid property when they come into control of property that they know or learns to have been lost or mislaid and appropriates the property to their own use without first taking reasonable measures to restore the property to the owner.”
This charge is a particularly murky one, as the standards are loose not only in terms of what constitutes the crime, but in terms of how it should be punished.