Once left a shotgun on top of a dog box while quail hunting. Drove off and when we made a left turn the gun slid off in the highway. At the next stop I missed it. Looked everywhere but could not find it. The next weekend I saw someone at a house where the gun had fallen in the highway. They told me who picked it up, and that it was a very evil person and I'd never see that shotgun again.
I called the person and told him that he was seen retrieving my shotgun. He admitted it but said he gave it to someone who said they lost it. He did not know their name. I told him to expect a visit from the sheriff. About an hour later the man called me back and said the gun was at a local dealer's store. The forearm was broken.
A week earlier I had gone to this dealer and given him the serial number of the shotgun and asked him to watch for it. When calling for the shotgun, I reminded the dealer of my report the day I lost the gun. He opened his register and retrieved a stub with the serial number that he had recorded the day I reported my loss. It matched.
End of story. I got the gun and had to order a new fore stock piece. Was never certain upon whose side the dealer was on - his neighbor who found my gun, or me - the rightful owner.
