Trying to return found AirPods. I've charged them and been waiting. Can Apple help?

Sorry, but no. Apple will not be able to help you with this, nor can anyone else here either. Apple does not keep track of lost or stolen Apple devices.

In order for the original owner to locate them, the following would have to be true:

• They would have had to have enabled "Find My iPhone" before they lost their AirPods.
• They are not in their charging case.
• They are still charged.
• They have not been reset.
• They would have to be in range of their Apple device. Most likely, the least likely at this point.

Regardless, thanks for trying to get them to their owner. At this point, you have a number of options:

1. Turn them into your local law agency. Chances are they will have "more important" things to deal with and the chance that they will be able to return them to the original owner will be remote.
2. Place an ad in a local publication, or post a note near where you found them. Should the original owner respond, they would need to prove that these were theirs. One method would be either the original shipping box or a purchase receipt. Unfortunately, this would put you in the position of having to "authenticate" the owner.
3. Give them away.
4. Keep them for yourself.

I'm not suggesting any of the above over the other. That will depend on you. Each has its advantages/disadvantages.

Apple can't do anything about it. If you connect them to an iPhone then it may give the name of who they belong to.