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Sheila Brown of Ogden stands next to a loaner vehicle near her home on Monday, Sept. 29. 2025. Earlier in the month, Brown found a loaded firearm in the vehicle that had been lost by the previous user.

Jared Lloyd, Standard-Examiner

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A photo of the gun that slid out from under the driver's seat of a loaner vehicle found by Sheila Brown of Ogden.

Courtesy Sheila Brown

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Sheila Brown of Ogden stands next to a loaner vehicle near her home on Monday, Sept. 29. 2025. Earlier in the month, Brown found a loaded firearm in the vehicle that had been lost by the previous user.

Jared Lloyd, Standard-Examiner

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Sheila Brown of Ogden stands next to a loaner vehicle near her home on Monday, Sept. 29. 2025. Earlier in the month, Brown found a loaded firearm in the vehicle that had been lost by the previous user.

Jared Lloyd, Standard-Examiner

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It was mostly just a normal Wednesday in mid-September for Sheila Brown of Ogden.

The biggest difference that day was that she had a loaner vehicle while her car was getting some work done, but she still followed her normal routine as she went to her job at Hill Air Force Base, then went to lunch.

That all changed, however, when she headed back to the parking lot on the base to head home.

“I looked down and saw something yellow, which caught my eye,” Brown said. “It was a yellow band on a hand gun, which had slid out from under the driver’s seat.”

Brown first wondered if she had somehow gotten in the wrong car, then wondered if one of her co-workers was planning some sort of prank.

“My first thought was that it was fake,” Brown said. “I took a picture, shut the door, locked it — and then my brain started spinning.”

She had to fight down a wave of panic, since bringing a personal firearm onto a military base can be a felony offense.

“If I had been inspected and they had found the gun, there would be huge consequences for me,” Brown said. “I could be arrested and lose my job.”

She immediately went to talk to her director and went through the process of reporting it to both the dealership — Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Riverdale — and the military security at the base.

Brown complimented the security forces for being understanding of her unique situation but said they were also very thorough as they inspected the vehicle. She also said the dealership contacted the previous occupant of the loaner vehicle, who had been the one to leave the firearm under the seat.

Considering the ramifications

After the initial shock and the weapon was secured by authorities, Brown said it hit her just how much worse things could’ve turned out.

“I thought, what if there were children that were in that vehicle at the time and they grabbed ahold of it?” Brown said. “I’ve raised a couple kids and I’ve got a grandkid. They just go out and play in the garage. What if they opened the car up and they pulled the handgun out. The officer told me that it was loaded and all it needed was a charge. It easily could’ve had the band removed, been charged and then fired.”

While the risk of an accident with the unsecured firearm was certainly real, Brown also thought about how it could’ve possibly been found by someone who chose to intentionally use it for criminal purposes.

“I’m just grateful I’m the one that took ahold of that handgun and I was the person that they loaned that vehicle to because it could have been a lot worse,” Brown said.

It’s unlikely to ever find a lost weapon in a loaner or rental vehicle, but Brown hopes her experience emphasizes the importance of gun safety and awareness.

Remember how dangerous firearms can be

One of the most important messages, according to Brown, is the importance of gun owners to be aware of where their weapons are and how they are secured.

“If you’re going to take a firearm with you and place it in a vehicle, whether it’s yours or a loner or a rental, make sure that you are 100% responsible and safe in keeping that firearm,” Brown said. “You need to be very clear that you’re owning it, and you’re taking the responsibility that you’re going to hold on to that firearm.”

While Brown doesn’t carry a gun, she has family that does and understands the necessity of treating it with the respect and gravity it deserves.

“I just think firearm owners need to take a little bit more responsibility, if they’re not already, at ensuring that their firearm is safe and it doesn’t end up in the hands of someone that doesn’t understand what it is and have something happen to them because of the negligence,” Brown said.

Lt. Sean Endsley of the Weber County Sheriff’s Office said in a phone interview that accidents can and do happen if guns aren’t properly safeguarded.

“We have the Second Amendment in this country and the right to bear arms, but the owner has the duty to be responsible, to be safe and to make sure that they’re accounting for that firearm at all times,” Endsley said. “We really discourage people from just leaving firearms in their cars. We see lots of vehicle burglary cases where guns are stolen right out of cars. Also, you never know who the next person is that’s going to find it and what they might do with it.”

What to do if you find a weapon

It’s a situation that most will never find themselves in, but Endsley said Brown did everything right when she found an unknown weapon in her loaner vehicle.

“If you’re in a situation where you can avoid touching it, where it can be safe where it is and you don’t have to worry about someone else or a child getting possession of it, then it’s always the safest bet to have an officer secure it,” Endsley said. “Then the officer can examine the serial number and decide what they need to do about it, that it’s properly collected in case it is stolen.”

He emphasized that if the firearm needs to be moved for safety reasons, then also treat it extremely carefully.

“Always treat the firearm like it’s loaded,” Endsley said. “Realize that if you have to pick it up or move it that you’re pointing it in safe directions. If you know how to unload it, make sure you’re doing that safely and you’re keeping your finger off the trigger.”

Businesses need to be responsible as well

All of the worst-case scenarios that Brown had to deal with because of the incident would never have been an issue if the loaner vehicle had been properly inspected prior to being lent out.

Morgan Irwin, head of corporate communications for the Asbury Auto Group that owned the Larry H. Miller dealership in Riverdale at the time (it was recently sold), said in a phone interview that the incident should never have happened.

“We have training in place, but clearly it wasn’t good enough,” Irwin said. “That’s our responsibility. Once we heard about this and it was brought to light, we immediately put plans into motion to retrain our detail teams and make sure it doesn’t happen again. But it should’ve been done right the first time.”

Although there was some initial confusion, Brown said that representatives from the company had reached out and apologized for the oversight.

She said she had no desire to have anyone get into trouble but just hoped that her story facilitates improvements in the future.

“I hope they improve their processes and make it safer for customers in the future,” Brown said. “There could be a firearm or drugs or other things. I hope they do a full inspection and have a checklist … so they can ensure to the customer that it has been completed and done. They then will feel a lot safer going into a vehicle and driving it, because I don’t think anybody would ever think there could be a firearm underneath the seat while they drive miles and miles away.”