Irving Police Officer Reunited With Stolen Belt Buckle 17 Years Later

IRVING, TX — Worn and tarnished but rich in history, a belt buckle once stolen from the father of an Irving police officer has made its way home to the man who bought it almost 20 years ago. The buckle, once purchased as a gift for Officer Rick Henderson's grandfather, had been missing for 17 years.

Officer Henderson is a detective at the Irving Police Department Narcotics Unit, and he has worked in law enforcement for 26 years. When his grandfather, whom he describes as a 'cowboy,' died at age 82, his father kept the buckle. But, in a burglary in 2000, the buckle was stolen from his father's home. Henderson said the burglars did not take anything else from the house, and most likely discarded the buckle in a storm drain. He told Patch his grandfather cherished the buckle.

"I bought it for my grandfather for his 80th birthday," he said. "He wore it every day for two years... He was emotional when I gave it to him because he was a really sensitive guy and close to me. He didn’t take it off until the day he died. For it to go missing just because some jackass decided to steal and discard something that was kind of important — for some guy to come across it 17 years later digging in a crack in the ground."

And that's exactly what happened on Sunday, Oct. 22. Shawn Bartlett, a plumber with a 'treasure hunting' hobby was digging through a creek bed where he said he often finds valuables that have been washed away. He came across the buckle, then covered in dirt and sludge, and knew he had encountered something important.

"Of course I’m wondering what the story was behind finding an officer’s buckle in a creek. 'Probably not a good story,' I’m thinking... What was an Irving police officer’s belt buckle doing in Dallas?" (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Dallas Patch, or click here to find your local Texas Patch. Also, if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Bartlett feared the buckle might have been stolen from an officer or that an officer had been harmed there. Bartlett cleaned and polished the buckle, then posted photos of it on Facebook. He said people were captivated by the photos, and that his friends made quick work of contacting the Irving Police Department.

Officer Henderson said he was surprised when he started receiving calls from the police department's media services. He did not initially remember buying the belt buckle.

“I was like, ‘What? A belt buckle with my badge number under a bridge? What are you talking about?'” he told Patch. "I was like, ‘I grew up over there. Is this a joke?' It took me a few minutes to remember that I bought a belt buckle. I actually talked to my dad because I couldn’t really remember. He was like, ‘No, you bought it for your grandpa and I got it back from him after he died.'"

Henderson soon met Bartlett at a job site where he works. Bartlett, who cleaned and polished the buckle, said the officer was overcome with gratitude.

"He came to the job site where I was working," he said. "People were calling him left and right about how someone found something of his in the creek. He shook my hand four times. He said thank you. He was excited to show it to his dad."

Henderson told Patch he did not know what to make of the calls at first. After the phone call with his dad, it still took him some time to piece back together the story from years prior.

"I was actually suspicious at first when media services called me. After 26 years being a cop, I’m suspicious of anything at first. I was like, ‘If you say so...’ It didn’t really hit me until I saw the belt buckle. It's still in pretty good shape... He had to dig it out, which made the story even more cool. It wasn’t just some guy walking along, checking to see what washed up. He had to dig it out of the ground."

Henderson said he plans to forego offers to have the buckle professionally cleaned and restored — instead opting preserve the buckle in its current condition.

"I’m not touching it," he said. "I’m putting it in a shadow box and leaving it just as it is."

Images via Shawn Bartlett