Police need help locating missing rifle after it fell from patrol vehicle



BURIEN, Wash. – The Burien Police Department is missing a rifle after it fell out of a patrol car during a chase on November 24.

The deputy had stopped to put out a spike strip, but when the chase changed direction, he is said to have packed up the spike strip in the truck, and that’s when his bag fell out with a rifle inside.

A driver reportedly called police after seeing a black bag fall from a deputy’s SUV near the intersection of SW 136th Street and Ambaum Boulevard South.

When the deputy came back to get it, it was gone.

“We were hoping that somebody might have found it and turn it in quickly but it appears at this point, they’re not,” said King County Sheriff’s Sgt. Cindi West.

Maria Renteria has lived in the neighborhood for the last six years but recently has noticed more crime.

“It was really calm, and now you could hear a lot of car chasings and shootings,” said Renteria. “People are stealing from other people. It’s gotten pretty rough.”

It’s why she’s even more concerned the gun is out there in the wrong hands.

“In these apartments, there are lots of kids playing around, and we don’t know who has that gun and who’s hands it’s on,” said Renteria.

Business owners are feeling the same way too.

“It makes me feel like it’s not safe; somebody could steal that gun and do that to other people,” said Veronica Moeung, who owns Super Laundry near the intersection.

The King County Sheriff’s Office said the deputy followed protocol and reported the bag missing immediately.

The woman who reported the bag falling out was someone just driving by, so she may not have been in the position to pick it up herself.

Anyone with information about this bag or rifle is urged to call the King County Sheriff’s Office.