WWII pistol returned to owner 22 years after being stolen

“Back in 1991…yes, 1991, I was in high school at the time, and the Delhi Township Police were running us off the lot of Burger King, when they weren’t busy taking burglary reports. In this report, the victim had several guns stolen from his residence. One of those guns was a Mauser Broomhandle with a wooden holster that also becomes a stock. It is a highly collectible gun and for trivia purposes, also the one Luke Skywalker and Han Solo’s blasters were modeled after. My old police chief was a detective at the time and he was eventually able to make an arrest in the offense. However, despite every effort he was unable to recover the stolen Mauser Broomhandle. More than 20 years later, a gun collector sold the stolen Mauser Broomhandle to a shop/gun dealer in Covington, Kentucky, and we were notified through LeadsOnline. The victim was notified and he did not blink an eye at paying to get back the gun his deceased father brought back with him from World War II. I met the victim at the store, and he literally had tears in his eyes. He was so overwhelmed by his emotions about getting the pistol back. After this much time, he never thought it would be found. As the victim went to write a check for the gun, the store manager said the gun collector came in and paid the money back. Some things in life are worth more than money, like a family heirloom and LeadsOnline.”

Det. Adam Cox
Delhi Township Police Department
Ohio