A bean bag shotgun that went missing from the trunk of a L.A. County Sheriff’s patrol car was returned to authorities on Tuesday, several days after the department issued a public safety alert.
The gun was found in a black canvas bag Saturday morning by construction workers headed southbound on the 405 Freeway near the Skirball exit, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Â
“Believing it was tools, they stopped and picked it up. They later discovered a sheriff’s yellow bean bag shotgun inside the bag. They turned it in to law enforcement on Tuesday evening. The shotgun, case and four bean bag rounds are intact, and the weapon appears to be undamaged. The investigation into the cause of the loss of the gun,” a release from the department stated.
A public safety alert was first issued after the weapon was reported missing from the trunk of a patrol car. At about 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 3, two deputies placed the shotgun in the trunk of their patrol vehicle and then left the Agoura Hills station to travel to a hospital in Hollywood to handle a child-abuse call.
The deputies stopped at the 101 freeway Sunset Boulevard exit ramp when they were flagged down by a passerby who told them their trunk was ajar. They conducted an inventory check and noted that the bean bag shotgun and its carrying case were missing. All other equipment was still in the trunk.
Deputies, the Malibu/Lost Hills Search and Rescue Team and an L.A. County Sheriff’s helicopter crew conducted a search of the route the deputies had traveled, but the shotgun and carrying case were not located. At the time it went missing, the shotgun was loaded with bean bag shells, but can operate as a regular gun if loaded with live shotgun shells.