Cape man rejects Bloomfield museum's offer after theft of exhibit

When Brad Phillips lent his 1864 Springfield rifled musket to the Stars and Stripes Museum in Bloomfield, Mo., in 2003, he said he did so to prevent it from getting stolen from his home. The museum guaranteed it would securely house the gun and that he could retrieve it anytime he desired, he said.

When Phillips, of Cape Girardeau, went to check on the gun in September, what he feared would happen in his home had occurred at the museum. The Civil War gun had been stolen, and the museum's volunteers and leadership had no idea what happened to it.

"They just said they could not locate it," Phillips said.

Phillips said he thinks he'll never see the gun again but would accept the $4,000 appraisers say it's worth. Last week, he declined the museum's offer of $2,000.

"It's more than an antique rifle; it's a piece of American history," he said.

And to Phillips, it's more than just a piece of American history -- it's one of his fondest memories of his father.

His father bought the gun when Phillips was a child, he said. Phillips inherited it when his father died in 2002 and intended to pass it on to his son.

Sue Mayo works as a volunteer Saturday at the Stars and Stripes National Military Museum and Library at Bloomfield, Mo.

After the theft was discovered, Phillips said, he asked museum director Dr. Joseph Baker whether a police report had been filed. When he answered no, Phillips, who is a Cape Girardeau County sheriff's deputy, requested one be made and followed Baker to the Bloomfield Police Department.

"Dr. Baker said he didn't want to hurt the museum's reputation," Phillips said.

Once at the station, Baker told investigators the museum did not have insurance because it is too expensive, Phillips said.

Baker could not be reached at the museum and has an unlisted phone number.

Police have interviewed several volunteers during the four-month investigation but have no leads in the investigation, chief Cheryl Malone said.

"It's a long investigation, and we're still interviewing people," she said.

Phillips said he chose to display his rifle to the Stars and Stripes Museum rather than Southeast Missouri State University because the university required him to donate it, something Phillips wasn't willing to do.

Officials told Phillips the gun would be housed behind a glass case so no one could touch it. The museum did not document the glass case promise on the loan or in other documents, Phillips said.

Some displays at the museum are behind glass, while others are out in the open. Phillips' gun was displayed openly, Stars and Stripes Museum volunteer treasurer Sue Tippen said.

'No time frame' for theft

Tippen said she was unsure when exactly the gun went missing, and the museum's lack of surveillance cameras has made investigations, both internal and external, difficult.

"The only thing we can determine is that someone took the gun," Tippen said. "We have no time frame when it was taken."

Tippen said she was unaware of any other guns being stolen from the museum, although Phillips said he got in touch with a Sikeston, Mo., man who said his gun went missing from the museum. Phillips said he did not have any contact information for the man.

Bloomfield police have not received any other reports of missing guns, Malone said.

The lost gun has prompted the museum to re-examine who volunteers there, Tippen said. Roughly 100 people volunteer at the museum, and they are selected by the Stars and Stripes Museum board of directors, Tippen said.

"We try to look at who is volunteering and make sure they're a part of the community," Tippen said. "They must be known and recognized by the board. We don't have people that just walk in and volunteer."

The board will begin checking the background of potential volunteers as a way to deter thieves, Tippen said.

Whoever stole Phillips' weapon may not have been a volunteer, Tippen said. Two volunteers work in the museum at a time, and they have several rooms to cover. A patron could have slipped out of the museum with the gun undetected, Tippen said.

The potential of visitors taking weapons out of the museum makes Tippen want glass cases for all the weapons, but that is not possible because of budget constraints, she said.

"We wish we could have glass for everything, but we can't," Tippen said.

Phillips said he is unsure how the gun's absence has gone unnoticed for so long. The 1864 Springfield rifled musket is one of the largest guns from the era, he said.

"It's about as tall as me," Phillips said.

psullivan@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

7377 Stars and Stripes Way, Bloomfield, MO