State Treasurer Larry Pack visited Ripley on Wednesday, May 28 to present the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office with an unclaimed property check worth more than $5,000 from his Office’s firearms auction held in March.

“I’m proud my Office is providing our local law enforcement officers with these funds to make necessary improvements to their operations,” Treasurer Pack said. “The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office sold 35 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. My Office is thrilled to return this money so that our police officers and sheriff’s deputies 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State and local law enforcement agencies are allowed to turn over any unclaimed, seized or outdated firearms in their possession to the Treasurer’s Office for auction.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 Jackson County Sheriff’s Office received a check valued at $5,333.75 which was collected from the most recent auction in Charleston on March 27.

Jackson County Chief Deputy Eric Cullen accepted the check before the Jackson County Commission meeting on Wednesday morning. He said the funding will be used toward facility upgrades.

“That money that we get from the auction sales helps us tremendously in our budget,” Chief Deputy Cullen said. “We got a new training center. I’m sure the funds will go toward that this time around. We just really appreciate all the Treasurer’s Office does for us.”

Last October, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office received more than $10,000 from the previous live firearms auction held in September 2024. Those funds also went toward facility improvements.

Treasurer Pack recently announced the March firearms auction raised $132,495 to benefit the 18 participating law enforcement agencies, including the Jackson 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, the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office, and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

Since the fiscal year began on July 1, 2024, the Office’s Unclaimed Property Division has returned nearly $40 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.