Priceless firearms stolen from Vietnam veteran - KPTV - FOX 12
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Burglars took something that disabled Vietnam veteran Randall Snider can never replace: a piece of his family history.
Five firearms, including two guns that his father made and one that he owned since he was a teenager, were stolen from his Sellwood home last May.
Randall Snider noticed that $8 was missing from his kitchen counter when he returned from a vacation. The next day he discovered that the money wasn't all the burglars took.
"I stepped into my bedroom and looked into my closet - all the guns were gone," he said.
Three rifles, one shotgun and one pistol were missing. Two of the rifles were handcrafted muzzle loaders made by his father. Randall Snider said he had owned another one of the guns since he was a teenager.
"I've lost something that I'll never be able to retrieve again," he said. "It would be of great value to me to have these guns returned to me."
Randall Snider gained new hope Thursday after deputies arrested two men who allegedly tried to sell undercover officers stolen guns connected to another burglary.
Randall Snider doesn't believe any of the guns officers seized in Thursday's sting operation belonged to him. But the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said it is looking into the possibility that the suspects arrested Thursday are connected to the burglary at Snider's house.
Detectives are investigating another case where a veteran who lives in Milwaukee also had guns and jewelry stolen from his home.
"Because he was a Vietnam veteran like my husband, and they took guns, right away the light went off in my head. I thought, ‘Wow maybe these are connected,'" said Randall Snider's wife, Carol Snider.
She hopes someone knows something about where her husband's guns went. The couple is offering a $2,000 reward to anyone who returns the firearms, no questions asked.
"Especially if it's someone that bought them and didn't know they were stolen. The guns are more important than who did it," Carol Snider said.
We'll keep you posted on the investigation.
Copyright 2012 KPTV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
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