ELLSWORTH, Maine — Police in Ellsworth are looking for the owner of a 9mm handgun that was left loaded in a bathroom at the L.L.Bean Outlet on High Street.

A store employee called police around 11:20 a.m. Wednesday to report the gun had been found, said Ellsworth Police Chief John DeLeo. He said the gun was a 9mm Walther pistol, loaded with one bullet in the chamber.

DeLeo said a potentially dangerous situation was defused when the employee turned the gun over to police. A loaded gun abandoned in a place where anyone may have grabbed it could have been disastrous.

“If they have a concealed carry permit, they obviously have a right to carry the gun,” DeLeo said. “But when you leave it in the restroom available to the public, I mean, a child could have gone in there and found it.”

The chief said police hope the gun’s owner comes forward to claim his firearm, but said the man or woman may face a charge of reckless conduct.