I found a lost Ipad, how do I find the owner?

You don't.

Turn it in to either law enforcement or a lost and found (if you found it in a store, for example).

Barry

Turn it into the police

I keep seeing this answer "Turn it into the police" Now if I was still living in Canada or the USA I would agree and do it immediately. Unfortunately where I live the police have a (to put it mildly) less then stellar reputation. (Please don't have me tell you any specific stories about the police around here, they really wouldn't be appropriate to the thread.)

What can one do if the "local law enforcement agency" really aren't an acceptable answer? I would love it if I could report it to Apple, and at least have them send an email to the owner saying "A good samaritan found your iPad and would like to return it to you. Please reply in this [Apple recorded and privacy protected web based thread] to get in touch. Here are some suggestions for your privacy and safety....."

Besides, the owner is probably not even in this country anymore, so they would likely really doubt their chances of ever getting it back... I'd like to make them believe in humanity.

Apple will not do anything.

Run an ad if you don't want to turn it in. Have the owner give you the serial number to prove it's theirs.

Apple can't and won't do anything about it.

If the police are not an acceptable alternative to you, then turn it over to the owner of the property on which you found it.

Apple can not and will not intervene.

Since you don't tell us where you are, we can't for any opinions on the honesty of the police forces there.

I'm in Mexico, in the same state where the local police and politicians recently helped the federal police 'lose' 43 protesting students via the drug cartels.... And that is not the worst I've heard.

I'm working on behalf of the property where it was found. The owners of the establishment want to know what to do with the thing now... They don't have cameras that might have caught the owners of the iPad, and the owners of the iPad haven't contacted them.
Oh well though, I guess this thing will be going to parts harvesters... Would have been nice to be nice.