Rare Stolen Shotgun Recovered After 50 Years

Some guns are extremely valuable because of who made them. Others are valuable solely for sentimental reasons that go beyond their resale value.

And some guns are both.

That was the case for Frank Rudy Jr. when he learned of the recovery of a rare shotgun taken from his family’s home more than five decades ago.

Knoxville, TN Detective David Ogle with Frank Rudy, Jr. on the day Det. Ogle returned this rare and valuable Ithaca shotgun. All images contributed by author.

Rudy, 16 years old at the time, was almost a witness to the theft. It was 1972, and he had just returned to his home, near Nashville, after being out with a friend.

“As soon as I walked in the house and looked down the hall, I could see the gun case was wide open and all the guns were gone,” he said.

Rudy believed the burglars had heard him coming and fled out a side door into a pasture behind the house.

“We lived pretty far out without many other houses around,” he said. “There had been an afghan on the sofa near the gun case that was missing. I assume they wrapped it around the guns. There was a total of 10 guns gone.”

His father, Frank Rudy Sr., who was out of town at the time, was a collector of rare and valuable firearms.

“When he got back, he called the police,” Rudy said. “He had all the serial numbers and filed a report. But I don’t know how much, if any, effort was made to try and find them.”

Most of the stolen guns were valuable Parker shotguns, but there was also a rare 28-gauge Ithaca double-barrel made in 1933.

“There were only 44 of those guns made that year,” Rudy said. “As far as we know now, there are only three remaining in existence.”

The recovered Ithaca 28-gauge double barrel shotgun was made in 1933. There were only 44 of the guns made that year and only two others are known to be still in existence. It is valued at more than $50,000.

52 YEARS LATER

Fast-forward 52 years, to March 2024. Enter Knoxville, Tennessee, Detective David Ogle, who learned of the rare 28-gauge when it was shipped from a dealer in Michigan to a buyer in Knoxville. Interstate sales must go through a licensed gun dealer.

“The Knoxville dealer did the right thing and ran the gun through the Tennessee Instant Check System,” Ogle said. “It got a hit, and our officers were dispatched. The gun was verified as stolen.”

When Ogle, an avid hunter and gun enthusiast, first saw the 28, he knew it was no ordinary gun. Normally, if no owner could be found, the gun would have been sold at auction by Knoxville authorities, and that auction was coming up soon.

“I realized the gun was special and deserved to be returned to its rightful owner,” Ogle said. “But that sale was coming up soon, so I was on the clock.”

In Michigan, however, long guns do not have to be registered. Therefore, no law-enforcement records existed of the years the rare shotgun apparently remained in that state.

“The old records we could find, verifying it was stolen, didn’t provide any victim information,” Ogle said. “But it did show that it was reported stolen in Nashville on June 25, 1972. During my investigation, via Guns International, I discovered the gun had been in Michigan the entire time since it was stolen from the Rudy family. I was able to trace it to a man who had been given the shotgun 28 years ago as a gift for his 40th birthday. The gift was from another gun enthusiast who bought it from an unknown farmer 10 years prior, and that’s where my trail ended.”

Knoxville, TN Detective David Ogle said, “It was such a great honor to return this gun to a family that has had such a big part in Tennessee history.”

But knowing the gun had been stolen in Nashville, the Knoxville detective put in a formal request to authorities there for the original theft report. He was first notified, however, that no records existed.

Most investigators likely would have stopped there, but not Ogle. He began posting about the rare Ithaca on multiple Internet firearm forums, hoping to glean more information.

“I also reached out to fellow Detective Shaun Daniels in Nashville, who does the same job I do, and explained the case,” Ogle said.

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GOING THE EXTRA MILE

After his conversation with Ogle, Daniels took extra steps, beyond whoever got the first official request for information. They had ostensibly just done a computer search that revealed no detailed information about the 1972 theft.

Apparently, the Nashville Police Department’s paper records had been transferred to microfiche images, which couldn’t be accessed by computer. Ogle said Daniels did a manual search via those microfiche records, and he apparently found the original reports filed after the theft from the Rudy home.

“From that, I had a name of the victim: Frank Rudy Sr.,” Ogle said. “But I also found that he had passed away in 1981.”

With the help of Detective Shaun Daniels in Nashville, Ogle was able to track down the original owner’s family.

The Rudy name is well known in the Nashville area. The family once owned the Rudy Sausage Co. Jeannette Rudy, Frank Jr.’s aunt (now deceased), was a champion skeet and trap shooter, and the prestigious Nashville Gun Club clubhouse is named in her honor. She was also once a commissioner on the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission.

“I kept searching and located a family member, Jacob Rudy, Frank Jr.’s son,” Ogle said. Rudy had told his son the story of the burglary many times.

EMOTIONAL MEMORIES

When Rudy learned that his father’s rare gun had been found after 52 years, he said, “It was like a dream. I hadn’t thought of the robbery in decades. But at that moment, it was like I was standing back in front of that open gun cabinet. I had to just stop for a moment and collect myself. My father died in 1981, but the first thing I wanted to do was call him and tell him we found his gun.”

Frank Rudy Jr. recounts the day 52 years ago when he apparently interrupted a burglary in progress at his family’s home, when this rare Ithaca shotgun was taken. The thieves were never captured.

Rudy made the trip from Nashville to Knoxville to meet Ogle and retrieve his family’s precious and valuable family heirloom.

“There are only three of this model of Ithaca known in existence,” Rudy said. “We found where one of them was last sold for $59,000.”

But for the Rudy family, the dollar value doesn’t matter (except for insurance purposes). The rare Ithaca is now under heavy lock and key, where it will remain in the family from now on, along with the amazing story of its incredible recovery — thanks to one dedicated Knoxville detective.

“There is a lot of negativity about law enforcement these days,” Rudy said. “But people need to know about Ogle and other officers like him. He’s not getting anything out of this. He just did it because he appreciates the heritage and value of a family heirloom. People everywhere, especially Knoxville, need to know about that.”

“It's not often I get a case that is this rewarding,” Ogle said. “To return a relic of this nature was priceless. It was such a great honor to return this gun to a family that has had such a big part in Tennessee history. It helps remind me why I keep on doing the job every day and the importance of doing what we do.”

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Editor’s note: From Chattanooga, Tennessee, Capt. Richard Simms is owner of Scenic City Fishing Charters, Inc. He began his outdoor career as a Tennessee game warden, later choosing journalism and guiding as his chosen professions. Check out his book, "An Outdoor State of Mind." You can contact him at [email protected].