The man with the golden gun
In 1989, one of the most brazen heists in Washington history occurred at the height of the state centennial celebration. Worse yet, it happened right under the nose of then-Secretary of State Ralph Munro. The thief – or thieves – simply walked into his office, and walked out with a first-issue, limited edition, gold-plated, commemorative .44 Magnum revolver made by Ruger especially for the centennial. And it wouldn’t be seen again for another 30 years.
Washington Territory was established in 1853, and its first territorial governor was a man named General Isaac Ingalls Stevens. Governor Stevens, upon arriving in the newly-created territory, immediately began establishing the frontier land as a suitable place for Americans in the east and Midwest to settle. He began by creating a state library, traveling back to the east coast and hand-selecting hundreds of titles that he thought would be useful or appropriate for a young territory. Having crated up the books, they traveled by ship along the South American coast, around Cape Horn, and back up the western side of the Americas until they reached Olympia. Today, the Washington State Library is the oldest state governmental institution in existence.
Governor Stevens quickly realized, when his books arrived on the dock, that he had no place to put them once they were unpacked. So he had the crates in which they traveled disassembled and reassembled into bookshelves. Stevens eventually settled in to the task of running the fledgling territory, and that included having a proper office with a desk, a chair, and a number of other amenities. To this day, that chair can be seen at the Washington State Archives. And in 1989, that desk could be found in the spacious office of the Secretary of State (it has since been moved to the Washington State Historical Society’s collection.)
There were a number of commemorative items made for Washington’s 100th birthday in 1989 that could be purchased by the public to mark the occasion. The Winchester Repeating Arms Company, established in 1855, made a limited number of lever-action .30-30 rifles, plated in gold and silver and engraved with various scenes of state and territorial significance. One of those rifles is still in the possession of the State Archives. Sturm, Ruger & Co., known more commonly as the Ruger firearms company, manufactured a limited number of commemorative centennial six-shot revolvers. They, too, were gold-plated, hand-engraved, and chambered in .44 Magnum. The very first edition, marked “No. 1 of 1000,” was given to Secretary Munro.
It was this very pistol, on display in the secretary’s office atop the Isaac Stevens desk, that went missing just a few months after it was donated. Secretary Munro was known for his open-door style, allowing visitors and staff alike to wander through the office like a stop along the capitol tour. He was quite aware that he was only a temporary steward of the office, and that it really belonged to the people of Washington. In that sense, he was arguably one of the best Secretaries to ever hold that lofty position. But someone with less-than-lofty intentions had their eyes on something else in that office.
The stolen pistol simply vanished one fateful day. Once it was noticed, the theft was reported to the police who – through no fault of their own – couldn’t do much of an investigation. There was very little evidence of the crime, and security video technology was virtually nonexistent in 1989. As such, those most affected by its theft had little to do but mourn the loss and change the office’s policy about what items should be on public display. Secretary Munro remarked that he never thought he’d ever see that pistol again.
Then, on April 10th, 2019, Munro got a completely unexpected phone call from the Lacey Police Department. They had recovered the stolen pistol. Munro raced to Lacey PD to recover his firearm and hear the story firsthand.
As it turns out, someone in Lacey took the piece to a local pawn shop, which triggered an automatic background check on the serial number. A young researcher with the Olympia Police Department – who, coincidentally, is the granddaughter of a woman who worked for the Office of the Secretary of State during Munro’s tenure – saw the file on the stolen pistol and reported it to Lacey PD. Police think the thief (or thieves) are likely deceased, and the pistol likely changed hands several times over the years. The woman who brought it to the pawn shop didn’t know it was a stolen item.
On Tuesday, April 16th, Munro brought the invaluable artifact back to the office from which it was first liberated. On hand to accept the pistol was the current Secretary of State and a number of her staff. Also present was KING 5 reporter Drew Mikkelsen and his photographer, who put together this great story for the evening news:
Ralph Munro, the man with the golden gun, has now donated it to the Washington State Archives, where it will remain a treasured part of our history for years to come.
