The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

15 years after gun stolen, it turns up in Tenn.

Revolver was one of Webb’s first cases


A revolver stolen 15 years ago from a Letcher County constable was found this year in Tennessee when someone attempted to trade it in at Smoky Mountain Knife Works, a large, tourist oriented outdoor store in Sevierville, Tenn.

On February 2, 2003, a month after Sheriff Danny Webb took office for his first term, District 4 Constable Harvey B. Campbell reported a break-in at his home at Blackey. Apparently, someone had stolen several weapons, including a Ruger Vaquero .357 Magnum revolver. The sheriff ’s department investigated and entered the serial number of the gun into the National Crime Information Computer System.

Fast-forward to February 1, 2018, nearly 15 years to the day after the theft. A person walked into the Smoky Mountain Knife Works store and attempted to trade in a gun for a new one. According to the sheriff ’s department, an employee at the store ran a standard check on the gun and discovered it was listed as stolen, then called the Sevierville Police Department. Sevierville police contacted the Letcher County Sheriff ’s Department, which confirmed the case was still open and that Campbell was still living at the same address.

On May 2, the sheriff ’s department received a package from the Sevierville Police Department containing the stolen gun.

The department notified Campbell, who stopped at the sheriff ’s office and picked up the stolen gun. According to the sheriff ’s department, it is very rare to recover stolen property after so many years.



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