Deputy’s missing gun located on Interstate 5 in Salem

A Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s gun that went missing Monday, July 13, has been located.

Sgt. Jeff Stutrud said the .45-caliber Glock pistol was returned to the Sheriff’s Office Wednesday afternoon after a construction worker found the firearm along Interstate 5 near Market Street NE, in Salem, and dropped it off at the Oregon State Police office in Albany.

The gun does not have a safety. It was fully loaded and had one round in the chamber at the time it was lost, according to Sgt. Don Parise. The same number of cartridges were in the gun when it was recovered.

Parise said the gun was reported missing around 4 a.m. by a deputy who did not know if it was had been lost or stolen.

“He has a routine when he gets home where he offloads his gun, and it wasn’t there,” Parise said. “He said he may have put it on the top of his car and drove away. He was also mowing the grass at one point and his garage was open.”

Parise said the deputy works nights.

“He has a take-home patrol car so people know what he does for a living,” Parise said.

Stutrud said the firearm was found with scrape marks and damage. An investigation into how the gun went missing is ongoing, Stutrud said.

“We’re still looking into how it got to where it was found,” Stutrud said.

Those who may have information about the gun or the incident are urged to call Marion County Sheriff’s Office at (503) 588-5032.

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