RICHLAND, Wash. — A $1,200 reward has been offered for the return of a memorial firefighter ax stolen during a home break-in after Christmas.
KEPR reported that the commemorative ax was given to Chris Lockard for his 25 years of service with the Hanford Fire Department.
The longtime firefighter took his own life more than a year ago following a battle with depression. The ax is one of the few things his daughter Hannah had to remember her dad.
Hannah, 24, proudly displayed the memento on her wall as a way to honor her father.
“At some point when you lose people, you pick and choose a few things to remember them by,” she said. “I am proud my dad was a firefighter. It’s just the one thing I kept with his picture with all of his buddies.”
Hannah’s brother, Ben, was killed in 2008 when the SUV in which he was riding slid on an icy road and collided with another car.
Hannah and her dad became especially close following the death. The department presented her with the ax at Chris’ funeral as a way for Hannah to remember the many years of service her father gave to the department.
“I’m hoping the guys that did it will feel guilty and drop it off somewhere,” Rad Howard, who worked with Chris for more than 15 years, said. “Whoever stole it could have been affected by Chris. His whole family has given to people.”
Howard has reached out to pawn shops in the area, and posts on Facebook about the ax have been shared hundreds of times. But so far, no luck.
Hannah contacted police shortly after the break-in but no arrests have made.
“I hope someone out there has the decency or courtesy to turn it in,” she said.