LEE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A gun stolen during a burglary 33 years ago at a southern Michigan home has been returned to its owners after being recovered in Tennessee.

Marge and Richard Montague say they’d nearly forgotten about the Remington Nylon 66 until the Calhoun County sheriff’s department recently reunited the Lee Township couple with the .22-caliber rifle. Richard Montague says it looks almost new — and still fires properly.

The gun was stolen Sept. 1, 1982. Sheriff’s Detective Steve Hinkley says his office was contacted by police in Covington, Tennessee, after a person tried to sell the rifle and a check of the gun’s serial number determined it had been stolen in Michigan.

The Battle Creek Enquirer reports the person with the gun had bought it years ago at an estate sale.

Information from: Battle Creek Enquirer, http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com