A collector is happy to have a unique item back in his possession.
The owner of a Second World War German army passport, who didn’t want to be identified out of fear of copycat thefts, had the passport recently returned.
The item was recovered by Red Deer RCMP on Dec. 13 during an arrest in the early morning hours. Red Deer RCMP said the vehicle was stopped because of an expired licence plate.
SEE RELATED: Red Deer police recover stolen Second World War German army passport, trying to find owner
When police investigated they found stolen mail, electronics, tools, a generator, gift cards, identification, cocaine and meth. They also found the passport belonging to a Franz Laue.
Police issued a press release hoping to reach the owner. They had exhausted searching for people who may be related to the man identified, contacting various families, but were unable to identify the owner through that avenue.
Instead, it belonged to a collector. Police thanked the media and the public for their assistance in locating the owner in a Thursday press release.
The passport bears the word “Soldbuch,” which was a German soldier’s personal identification during the Second World War. The title of Lagermeister, means the Laue was a non-commissioned officer working at a depot.
Police said the driver of the vehicle was found to be in violation of his probation conditions and possessed knives and ammunition contrary to court orders.
Kent Lee Nichol, 38, was convicted of trafficking in government documents, possession of stolen property under $5,000, possession of weapons contrary to a prohibition order, possession of a controlled substance and failing to comply with a probation order. He was sentenced to 90 days in custody.