Ohio Sheriff's Patrol Car With Gun Inside Stolen From Her Driveway

Law enforcement officials are investigating exactly how someone managed to steal an Ohio sheriff’s vehicle — with a gun inside — from her driveway.

The car was locked and the alarm was set, Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey confirmed to local news outlets.

She added that leaving a gun in a secured compartment in the locked car isn't out of the ordinary, Fox 19 notes.

The patrol car has since been recovered, but McGuffey's service weapon remains missing, WLWT reports. McGuffey added that the incident would likely lead to a change in protocol.

“I don’t think by far, I’m the first police officer to have secured their weapon in their car, in their driveway,” McGuffey told WLWT in a phone interview from Arizona, where she was attending a conference. “I hope the person who did this...will come to realize that this is not the way you should live.”

Sen. Cecil Thomas is also urging gun owners to avoid leaving them in cars, where they can be stolen.

"If it could happen to the sheriff, it could happen to anybody,” he told WLWT. “Let's be real.”

Although it’s still unclear how someone managed to steal the locked patrol car, McGuffey noted to WCPO:

“Apparently there are ways that some of these criminals can override that key fob…I don’t know that for a fact, but I have to assume that’s what happened.”

Fox 19 reports that the thief who stole the car remains at large. The sheriff’s office continues to investigate.