So, I sent my Dan Wesson ECO in on RMA for warranty repair a few weeks ago. It was shipped back overnight FEDEX. However, FEDEX Delivered My pistol to somebody, and it was not me! The signature was J. John at 10:39 and the signature is not available to view online. Sounds totally made up. My security camera catches the FEDEX truck passing by my home at 10:51 heading southbound. The cameras did not see him go by earlier.

I did the online complaint and then I called FEDEX. After 20 minutes with the automated BS, I get a human that tells me that I already opened a case and they Will look into it. I said: "You are aware it is a firearm, right?". Well that got a bit more attention and a few more transfers only to be told that they will investigate with no timeline.

I then called CZ USA to let them know. They said they would look into on their end also.

Should I report the missing firearm to the police?

Any advice would be great.

You can give the cops a call. But unless your local cops can confirm the theft took place in their jurisdiction, they may not help. Theft from an interstate shipment is a Federal matter.
The locals may be helpful in getting the gun entered as stolen into NCIC.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: YooperSigs,

You might give your nearest ATF office a call.

Yes, you should make a report. Whether the police can do anything or will do anything is irrelevant. It may become very relevant if your firearm was delivered elsewhere and is used in a crime, or an incident that results in legal action. Establishing that the firearm isn't in your possession, with documentation of your report, may be useful for you.

I would absolutely report this to local police AND to ATF, and inform the local FedEx branch manager that this is being done.

If the gun was delivered to someone else who doesn’t make a reasonable effort to return it to the rightful owner, it should be treated as a theft. And even if the local police don’t want to do anything because of the jurisdiction question, it can still be entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) as a lost gun. Don’t make your own assumptions about what they will do or won’t do, but if they won’t do that, then I’d contact the ATF.

Regardless of what sort of investigation might be conducted, if the gun is recovered by the police at some point it’s important that its status is recorded. And keep in mind that in some jurisdictions there is a legal requirement to report such loss. If you don’t do it, no one else will or even can.

Added: In fact if you’re in Virginia, you are required to report it to the police:

Ҥ 18.2-287.5. Reporting lost or stolen firearms; civil penalty.
A. If a firearm is lost or stolen from a person who lawfully possessed it, then such person shall report the loss or theft to any local law-enforcement agency or the Department of State Police within 48 hours after such person discovers the loss or theft or is informed by a person with personal knowledge of the loss or theft. The law-enforcement agency shall enter such report information into the National Crime Information Center maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

https://law.lis.virginia.gov/v...7/section18.2-287.5/

Fed Ex should have a GPS record of where the package was signed for.
I know that USPS does. The Supervisor tracked a delivery scan (no signature required) right to the address where it was scanned for me while I was on the phone with him a couple of years ago. The supervisor contacted the driver and sent him back to the address to retrieve it and deliver it to me. Same day. Of course the supervisor KNEW how to USE the tracking software. Apparently not everyone does.

quote:

Originally posted by rebut10:
Fed Ex should have a GPS record of where the package was signed for.

That’s a good point and I believe they do.
That seems to be the reason why FedEx insists on putting my packages next to my door rather than about 10 feet away on the steps as I ask them to. Unlikely to be that precise? Perhaps, but I can’t think of another explanation. (If I’m wrong it would be interesting to know.)

Sub meter GPS is becoming well used in many industries, as costs to manufacture devices drops.

But may have nothing to do with placement in your case.

not sure what part of Va you are in ,

FedEx generally sucks here, esp ground, but Express does have some, not a lot, of folks that care working for them,


call the Local Police, they may or may not enter it, (I called on a USPS lost gun last winter and the officer wanted me to wait a bit longer before filing a report,)

and make sure you get a case number from Fed Ex, and call daily if you have to,

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
call the Local Police, they may or may not enter it, (I called on a USPS lost gun last winter and the officer wanted me to wait a bit longer before filing a report,)

Per Virginia statute they are required to enter guns reported as lost or stolen:

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Added: In fact if you’re in Virginia, you are required to report it to the police:

Ҥ 18.2-287.5. Reporting lost or stolen firearms; civil penalty.
A. If a firearm is lost or stolen from a person who lawfully possessed it, then such person shall report the loss or theft to any local law-enforcement agency or the Department of State Police within 48 hours after such person discovers the loss or theft or is informed by a person with personal knowledge of the loss or theft. The law-enforcement agency shall enter such report information into the National Crime Information Center maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” [Emphasis added.]

https://law.lis.virginia.gov/v...7/section18.2-287.5/

Burnetma, I'm curious if you have any updates?

Thank you all for the great advice.


I went to the County Sheriff's Office to file a report. I called FEDEX one last time while I was there and was told that FEDEX had found my handgun. The Deputy heard the entire conversation and we agreed to wait before filing the report.

Lyman,

I am in Charles City County. We share the same FEDEX hub.

Glad to hear it's going to work out.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

In fact if you’re in Virginia, you are required to report it to the police:

Ҥ 18.2-287.5. Reporting lost or stolen firearms; civil penalty.

A. If a firearm is lost or stolen from a person who lawfully possessed it

Is this really applicable in this case? It appears that OP never "possessed it," as the firearm was never delivered to him.

The keyword is "lawfully". The OP appears to be the lawful owner of the firearm regardless of whether he has physical possession at the time or not.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Is this really applicable in this case? It appears that OP never "possessed it," as the firearm was never delivered to him.

He clearly states it was his gun:

quote:

Originally posted by burnetma:
So, I sent my Dan Wesson ECO ....

It didn’t stop being his gun merely because it was out of his possession for a time and didn’t make it back to him as it should have. Even if the gun had been exchanged for another due to some warranted defect, it was his gun once the factory said it was. As for “possessed” in the language of the statute, that’s clearly to extend beyond ownership; if I am in lawful possession of a gun as a gunsmith, for example, even though I don’t own it, the burden of the statute falls on me. Further, could I claim that because the gun was stolen from my car when I wasn’t in it that I wasn’t in “possession” of it at the time and therefore I had no duty to report the theft? We know the answer to that.

And I would also argue that the intent of the law puts the burden on the OP in this case because no one else would know that the gun had been lost or stolen. Statutes don’t normally include language like “… in possession of or who owns a firearm that he knows was lost or stolen from the custody of a common carrier when no one else shared that knowledge and therefore no one else would be in a position to report the loss or theft ….” It’s impossible for the law to spell out every conceivable situation and therefore if the issue became a matter for a court, someone would be saying, “Yeah, he wasn’t in actual possession when the loss occurred, otherwise it wouldn’t have been lost. Most of the time guns are not stolen when someone is in actual possession of them either. But he knew about it, no one else did, and the intent of the law is obvious.”

At least all that is my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Sub meter GPS is becoming well used in many industries, as costs to manufacture devices drops.

But may have nothing to do with placement in your case.

After my rescue dog took off I got her a GPS collar that works off of cell service.

The thing is accurate to with a few yards. I was amazed.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
call the Local Police, they may or may not enter it, (I called on a USPS lost gun last winter and the officer wanted me to wait a bit longer before filing a report,)

Per Virginia statute they are required to enter guns reported as lost or stolen:

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Added: In fact if you’re in Virginia, you are required to report it to the police:

Ҥ 18.2-287.5. Reporting lost or stolen firearms; civil penalty.
A. If a firearm is lost or stolen from a person who lawfully possessed it, then such person shall report the loss or theft to any local law-enforcement agency or the Department of State Police within 48 hours after such person discovers the loss or theft or is informed by a person with personal knowledge of the loss or theft. The law-enforcement agency shall enter such report information into the National Crime Information Center maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” [Emphasis added.]

https://law.lis.virginia.gov/v...7/section18.2-287.5/

Who must report might be in question. Seems the shipper is the one to do it.

quote:

Any Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) who has knowledge of the theft or loss of any firearms from their inventory must report such theft or loss within 48 hours of discovery to ATF and to the local law enforcement agency. (Regulations at 27 CFR § 478.39a and implementing 18 U.S.C. § 923(g)(6) require that the report of theft or loss be made by telephone and in writing to ATF).