WINFIELD, W.Va. (WVDN) – State Treasurer Larry Pack visited Winfield on Monday, May 12 to present the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office with an unclaimed property check worth more than $6,000 from his Office’s firearms auction held in March.
“The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office sold 45 firearms during our last live auction in Charleston. These include weapons that are older and no longer used by a department, or that have been seized as evidence and sitting in storage rooms for an extended amount of time,” Treasurer Pack said. “I’m proud my Office is providing our local law enforcement officers with these funds to make necessary improvements to their operations so they can better serve their communities.”
State and local law enforcement agencies are allowed to turn over any unclaimed, seized or outdated firearms in their possession to the Treasurer’s Office for auction. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office on Monday received a check valued at $6,693.75 which was collected from the most recent auction in Charleston on March 27.
Putnam County Sheriff Bobby Eggleton said the funding be used to purchase a new K-9 officer.
“When we confiscate guns and turn them over to the Treasurer’s Office and they sell these for us, we turn right around and use these funds for training, for equipment for law enforcement, but I’ve already earmarked this for a K-9,” Sheriff Eggleton said. “We’re going to use this money to better serve the people of Putnam County.”
Treasurer Pack recently announced the March firearms auction raised $132,495 to benefit the 18 participating law enforcement agencies, including the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. There were 277 lots up for bid consisting of 624 firearms and 700 pounds of ammunition, which made it the largest firearms auction by volume in Office history.
Over the last month, Treasurer Pack has returned funds from the March firearms auction to other law enforcement agencies including the Bluefield Police Department, the Bridgeport Police Department, and the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office.
Since the fiscal year began on July 1, 2024, the Office’s Unclaimed Property Division has returned more than $35 million to rightful owners, surpassing the $28 million that was returned to rightful owners during Fiscal Year 2024.
For more information about the unclaimed property program or to find out if the Office is holding any money for you, visit www.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov.
