OTTAWA — A missing World War II-era German army sub-machine gun has been returned to the Ottawa Police Department. Five years ago, as part of an internal audit, Chief Dennis Butler asked federal regulators for a list of the restricted weapons held by the department. When Butler compared the federal list with the police department’s list, he couldn’t find a German MP40 9-millimeter sub-machine gun. That started a search involving Ottawa police and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Butler said he quizzed former police chiefs and officers as part of the search. The gun was last seen 40 years ago, so he formally reported it as stolen. The department went public with the search. Because of the publicity, a Kansas City-area gun collector solved the case. The collector was related to the original owner, who lived in Ottawa had the gun as part of a gun collection, but later turned it over to Ottawa police. Police informed the ATF, he said. Later, the department returned the gun to the owner several years later and his relative inherited it after he died, Butler said. However, Butler said the ATF wasn’t notified that the gun had been returned. Therefore, for decades, internal ATF records continued to list the owner as the Ottawa Police Department, he said. The MP40 was recovered by the ATF in March 2009. The relative in possession of the MP40 filed a claim with the ATF to keep the weapon. The claims process ended recently and the weapon was returned to the Ottawa Police Department on April 23, Butler said. The police department has not disposed of the weapon, but doesn’t plan to keep it, he said.
Wednesday, May 9, 4 p.m.
