Coin collection stolen in 1972 recovered during drug search

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Former Charleston residents will get their coin collection back about 45 years after it was stolen.

Mississippi County Sheriff Cory Hutcheson said the coin collection was found by deputies last month during a search for drugs.

"At first glimpse, I knew this collection didn't belong there, so the coins were taken for further investigation," Hutcheson said in a news release.

During an inventory of the coins, chief deputy Branden Caid noticed a dog tag that listed the pet's owners as Jon and Jed Carson of Charleston.

Caid learned the Carson family had relocated to Florida in 1972, so he reached out to Jed Carson via social media to share the news.

Later, during a phone conversation, Carson described many of the coins in the collection and provided a picture of his younger self posing with the dog, according to the news release.

Carson told police he recalled receiving the dog tag from a prominent veterinarian in the Charleston area and said his family often wondered who had stolen the collection but never dreamed it would find its way back to its owners, according to the news release.