Sgt. Daniel Warner's personal-use weapon -- a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun -- was reported stolen from his pickup truck on July 6. But Warner, who tendered his resignation because of the missing weapon, told authorities he found the gun at his home on Thursday.
HATFIELD -- Part-time Hatfield Police Sgt. Daniel Warner originally reported that a loaded handgun was stolen from his pickup truck on July 6, but that weapon has since been found at the officer's home, according to authorities.
"He thought it was in the truck (but) it was at his house in a briefcase. There's no missing gun," Hatfield Police Chief Thomas J. Osley told the Daily Hampshire Gazette for the newspaper's weekend edition.
Hatfield authorities originally had issued a public plea for help from anyone who may have witnessed any suspicious activity leading up to the theft of the the .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun, which was Warner's personal weapon and not his Police Department-issued weapon.
Hatfield Town HallWarner claimed the gun was taken from his truck in the Town Hall parking lot while he was out on patrol on the evening of July 6. On Thursday afternoon, however, the sergeant contacted Osley to tell the chief that he had found the missing gun inside a briefcase at his home.
Osley expressed relief that the loaded weapon had been recovered and "was not out on the street," according to the Gazette.
But Warner's status as a member of the Hatfield Police Department remains in limbo: The missing-gun incident prompted a week-long investigation by local and state police and resulted in Warner, 47, resigning just hours before he found the misplaced gun, the Gazette reports.
Osley had placed Warner on unpaid leave while the investigation was being conducted. On Thursday, when the probe had failed to turn up the gun, Osley informed Warner that he either would have to resign or be terminated over the incident, according to the Gazette.
Warner chose to resign, submitting his letter to town officials on Thursday. Later that day, Osley received a phone call from Warner saying he had located the missing gun. "He thinks he might have put it in (the briefcase). There was no crime, nothing to discipline him for," Osley told the newspaper.
Because the incident appears to have been an oversight on Warner's part, and the loaded gun had not been stolen, there's a chance Warner might soon be back on the job. Town officials are expected to review the matter and weigh input from Osley, who could not immediately be reached for comment.
Check MassLive.com for an update on this story as it develops.