Australia’s husband and wife shooting duo, Russell and Lauryn Mark, have been reunited with their two shotguns following their disappearance in transit to Belgrade, Serbia this week.

The Marks travelled to Belgrade on Monday to take part in an Australian shotgun camp and also compete in a European Grand Prix event, but upon arrival in the Serbian capital, their $15,000 shotguns and 150 rounds of ammunition had gone missing.

Following liaison with the airlines and two days of back tracking the guns and ammunition were discovered last night in Frankfurt and arrived in Belgrade around 6pm Serbian time on Wednesday evening.

The return of the guns did not come in time for Lauryn to compete in the women’s skeet event, but she will still have the opportunity to train on the range that will be used for the 2011 ISSF World Championships in September (5-13) this year.

Russell will be able to compete in the men’s double trap on Friday this week as originally planned.

Australian International Shooting Limited CEO Nick Sullivan said the situation had not been ideal, but the most important point was that the guns had been returned to the Marks.

“There was obviously a mix-up along the way and while it is disappointing that Lauryn was unable to compete in the event, to have the guns returned is a relief,” Sullivan said. “We will be working even closer with all airlines to ensure that similar situations can be avoided in the future.”

Australian International Shooting