The director of the state Game and Fish Department says 12 guns used in its hunter education program are still missing.
A state audit report released in June said it appears guns provided to hunter education instructors were never identified. Game and Fish director Terry Steinwand says the department identified 704 guns – and he says 12 have not been accounted for.
Steinwand told the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee the information on the 12 guns will be entered into the National Crime Information computer as lost. He says that means the files remain open, but as inactive investigative files. Steinwand says he believes the guns were not stolen.
"We do believe they are still in the hands of some hunter education volunteers out there who may have retired," said Steinwand. "Within the last few weeks, we have recovered this: During the flood of 2011, a hunter education instructor put one of the guns up in his rafters, to keep it from getting wet. He forgot about it. His wife happened to look up in the rafters, and said, 'What's that?" It was one of the hunter education guns that was subsequently turned into us."
Steinwand says the department is also considering replacing about 500 guns used in classrooms with “non-functional” firearms. He told the committee that would reduce risk and liability.
Besides the missing guns, the audit also criticized the department for paying its employees for some unwarranted expenses; and paying too much for its “Plots” program, to set aside land for hunting.
"Our focus is on correcting these deficiencies," said Stenwand. "It's been a painful experience, but it's been an important experience."
Steinwand says Game and Fish employees have been wrongly portrayed. He says the employees care about doing the right thing, and go above and beyond their jobs.