(AP) TERRELL, Texas - A rural east Texas man has been reunited with his long-lost gun more than two decades after it was stolen. Kauffman County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Pat Laney says Bruce Garner received his H&R nine-shot revolver at an upbeat property hearing Thursday morning.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, burglars took the gun from Garner’s home in Terrell soon after he moved there in June 1989. Terrell is about 30 miles east of Dallas.

The thieves were never caught. But deputies found the firearm at a pawn shop and traced it to Garner.

Garner says he’s astounded that he was able to get his favorite dispatch gun back. The 59-year-old leathersmith says he once used it to hunt and trap to make money.