Is not identifying a captured hour for more than a year considered a sin, and is it permissible to begin identifying it now?

Whoever finds a lost item (Luqata) must publicize it for a full year. If its owner is not found after this period, the lost item becomes the property of the finder. If the finder neglects to publicize the lost item for the required duration without a valid excuse, he has sinned. Scholars have differed on whether the publicizing must be immediate upon finding or if it can be delayed, and whether the year of publicizing must be continuous or if intermittent publicizing suffices. The conclusion is that it is more cautious to give the lost item in charity if its owner is not found, because in this case, it is treated as wealth whose owner is unknown.