Losing rod tips must be somewhat common based upon the frequency that it’s reported here. Two yrs ago I found one at night on a dirt road leading to a popular NC Pa creek. We had waited until three anglers left in two trucks as it got dark before we walked down the steep hill that they had driven up. I didn’t see the rod tip on the way down, but with my light on at the end of the night I spotted it when walking uphill. Maybe it had slipped under a bent tail-gate. I didn’t know what to do with it so I walked 30 yds downhill and stuck it vertically in the mud at the edge turn-about, hoping it could be found without being run over.
If I fished with an expensive rod, losing the tip would probably happen to me, but since my rod is a cheap glass one from the early 1960’s, it will probably never happen. I can wear older dress pants for years, but get me a new pair and I’ll spill gravy on them the first time they’re worn. 😉 And so it goes.
Hope the rod tip is returned in some way by some honest person. Some still exist.