"I know Katherine Bryson found it (the camera). She brought it back and dumped it on Dennis Harris' desk," Tracy said.

"The bottom line is, it was represented to us as simply a concern that there was a burglary or some burglaries," Tracy said.

Harris was off duty when he performed the work for Kay Bryson last October, Tracy said. He's certain because, "We've gone back and checked the dates."

Tracy said the camera is equipment owned by Utah County but the tape was purchased and kept by Kay Bryson.

Tracy said any citizen or county employee is entitled to request similar consideration if they suspect they have been the victim of a crime and if the equipment is available. "My point is, it's offered to a whole lot of people," the sheriff said. "We have caught a lot of criminals this way."

He said it isn't unusual to place the surveillance equipment in places outside the county either.

"We busted a huge theft ring in Iron County because we bugged some cars and tracked them," Tracy said. "Generally we do coordinate with the other jurisdictions and we would have, in this case, if we'd found anything."

The county does not charge for the service and did not charge Bryson a fee.

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E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com