The Platte County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are investigating a mystery involving an M-14 rifle registered to the Sheriff that was recovered from a dealer in Arizona.

Platte County officials were notified by ATF recently that the bureau had recovered an M-14, registered to the Platte County Sheriff’s Office.

The rifle was recovered from a firearms dealer.

It’s not yet known how the weapon wound up in Arizona. It was purchased during the administration of former Sheriff Tom Thomas. Officials say it was no longer a part of the Sheriff’s Office inventory by the time Sheriff Richard Anderson took office in 1997.

The Sheriff’s Office is currently working with the ATF to try and determine how the weapon ended up in Arizona.