How to recover a stolen Thompson recovered by a Police department

[PilotDave]

I had a nice 1928 Thompson and other firearms stolen in a home break in in 1999   Of course Police reports filed, it was on local TV crime stoppers   Reported to ATF  Well 3 weeks ago I got a call from the ATF the Bloomington Indiana Police has it recovered    I have written and emailed the ATF to award them the standing 2500 dollar reward but they are not responding in any way    What can I do ?  Do I need to get an attorney to get answers ??

[Rekraps]

1 hour ago, PilotDave said:

I had a nice 1928 Thompson and other firearms stolen in a home break in in 1999   Of course Police reports filed, it was on local TV crime stoppers   Reported to ATF  Well 3 weeks ago I got a call from the ATF the Bloomington Indiana Police has it recovered    I have written and emailed the ATF to award them the standing 2500 dollar reward but they are not responding in any way    What can I do ?  Do I need to get an attorney to get answers ??

I see you said the police recovered it, not the ATF. You should contact them, and with the proof of loss be able to recover the gun. 
 

[NFA amnesty]

A

1 hour ago, Rekraps said:

I see you said the police recovered it, not the ATF. You should contact them, and with the proof of loss be able to recover the gun. 
 

Agree, contact the local PD, remind them it is legally registered and you are the legal owner.  Bring your form 4, ID card and police report if you still have it.  

[TD.]

PilotDave,

I would not worry about the reward. Generally speaking, law enforcement agencies do not accept or qualify for rewards for doing their job. 

I agree with NFA amnesty, above. Make contact with the police department in possession of your stolen Thompson submachine gun. The ATF Form 4 should be sufficient proof of ownership. Have a copy available. I would guess your name, address and contact information is in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) indicating when your Thompson was stolen and providing a case number from the police department that took the report and entered the information. The only hold-up may be if the Thompson is being held as evidence against the person(s) from whom it was recovered. Hopefully, the case detective can provide you with current status. Be polite and appreciate. If the Thompson has to be held as evidence, I would ask that the Thompson be wiped down with oil. Guns in evidence are not usually treated as collector's items.

Let us know what happens.  

[SP Sarge]

Did insurance pay out on the loss? If so, the weapon most likely is going to go to the insurance company.

[Rekraps]

14 hours ago, NFA amnesty said:

A

Agree, contact the local PD, remind them it is legally registered and you are the legal owner.  Bring your form 4, ID card and police report if you still have it.  

And a small reward for me and the ever correct NFA amnesty. 👍

[brveagle]

Wonder where it's been the past 26 years....

[Motorcar]

Pretty freaking cool that after all these years it turned up and they got a hold of you. The fact that the called you means the process is starting to get it returned. There has to be an interesting story behind a 27 year disappearance.

[Chopper28]

Keep us informed and let us know what happens.

 

[full auto 45]

If you are in Indiana, I would travel to Btown and look at the gun, if they still have it there. Take your forms to show it is yours and you may get it back. At least you could get a chance to see it and what condition it is in.

[Robert Henley]

That's great the ATF contacted you to advise it had been recovered.  It reminds me that when my Dad was still alive, he had a conversion van which he had parked to go to a Super Bowl game in New Orleans.  To make a long story short, he had some Title 1 guns in the locked van, and it was broken into and the guns of course were stolen.  The police were called and a report filed and to my knowledge there's never been a recovery.  In that case, ATF wasn't notified to my knowledge (not Title 2 guns).  My Dad has since passed away and his house sold so if the guns were ever recovered, I don't know how the authorities would find the heirs.  No one has a copy of the police report filed.  I'm not sure if the police report included serial numbers but assume it would.  It would certainly be nice to get a call from a police department that the guns were recovered but of course not expecting that to happen after so many years.  You must have been very pleasantly surprised to hear from ATF.  Let us know if you get your gun back and how it looks compared to when it was stolen.  Hopefully, ATF advised the police department that recovered your gun that it was a legally registered gun.

[Mk VII]

You may be disappointed when you see the condition of the gun.  

Some departments here destroy the gun after six months if it's not needed as evidence, regardless of whether the owner can be traced.  

[ranger1385]

I recovered NUMEROUS stolen firearms during the course of my career.  I would reach out to the department ASAP.  You should be able to obtain a copy of the police report and the circumstances of the recovery.   May be able to speak to the recovering officer too.  If memory serves me correct, stolen firearms are one of the few items that remain in the database for life, until recovered.   The only reason they "may" hold it, would be if there was an arrest involved and the case is open.