All baggage and property so held by the keeper of the hotel, after the expiration of three months from the date of the detention, shall be sold at public auction, after notice thereof published three times in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the hotel is kept. The proceeds thereof shall be applied to the payment of the amount due and the expenses of the notice and sale. The balance, if any remaining, shall be paid over to the owner of the property or the owner’s representative. If the balance is not claimed by the owner within sixty days after sale, then the balance shall be paid over to the director of finance of the State and shall be kept by the director in a special deposit for payment to the owner and shall be disposed of as provided in chapter 523A.